A Clear River
by jm1681
Summary: River begins to learn to control her mind with varied results. Mal and River's surrogate father/daughter relationship grows. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Firefly or any of it's characters ; )

UPDATE 5/7/09: Lots of streamlining. Some changes throughout and LOTS of mistakes corrected. Probably going to do this in 2 batches as its going to take a while.

Update 5/13/09: Made a few more changes and fixed a few more mistakes throughout.

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Mal waited anxiously outside the infirmary. While their most recent job was complete and they had been safely in the sky for nearly an hour, no job would be complete without shots being fired or received. In the case of their latest job, matching bullet holes, front and back of River's left side. The shot didn't even slow her assault as she continued to mow down all those in their way back planet side. None of the crew even realized she was hit till they got off the mule on Serenity.

Simon emerged from the infirmary wearing his best calm-doctor-post-surgery-cool; "She's sedated."

"She gonna be alright?" Mal asked.

"Blood loss was minimal and the bullet was low caliber. Entry and exit were clean, no organs punctured or damaged. Knowing River, she'll probably be awake in an hour and beating up Jayne by dinner no matter how many times I tell her to stay off her feet."

Mal laughed quietly to himself. Ever since the events of Miranda, he had developed a fatherly pride in how strong River had become.

"So you think…" Mal attempted to speak but Simon had more on his mind, "I can't keep doing this Mal!"

Mal absorbed the doctor's outburst with a slight flinch and replied, "Can't keep doin' what?"

"Fixing my rutting sister! I got her out of that place so no one would be able to hurt her anymore. She's an 18 year-old girl who's already been through more than everyone on this ship combined. She hears everyone's thoughts day in and day out. While we sleep in silence, our dreams are in her head. She'll never know any kind of peace, she doesn't deserve this, any of…"

Mal cut Simon off and now it was his turn to rant.

"You think I don't see what she goes through?! That I don't see it every time she breaks down how bad she's hurtin'?! You think I enjoy bringin' her back to you bleedin'?! You think its not killin' me seein' her on that gorram table with a hole in'er?!"

"You certainly didn't seem to mind putting her in a position to be shot!" Simon began to trail off ranting while Mal composed himself and not so delicately pushed the doctor onto the couch in the common room. Mal spoke again, this rare time, softly and rationally.

"You're my medic, she's my pilot, you're both my crew. We've all been through a lot together and I'd be lyin' if I said I considered ya any less than family. Every time I take either of ya outside those doors, I make myself responsible for ya. Every time we're on a job and I hear a gun go off I'm prayin' it'll be me gettin' hit, hell I got more practice with it than all'a ya. But things don't always go according to plan."

Simon sat frustrated but he had now known Mal long enough to know that when he was quiet he was at his most lucid. It didn't change the fact that River still lay in the infirmary with a hole in her side.

Mal offered his hand to Simon to help him off the couch and continued, "No one on this ship is sorrier than me that somethin' happened to River. But she _is_ going to be ok, right?"

Simon nodded in apparent defeat. Mal had a way of speaking with each of his crew; this was his way with Simon.

"I'm sorry Mal, I just…I can't stand seeing her get more hurt than she's already been."

"I know, and if I don't need her on a job, you have my word I won't be askin'. If I do, know that shy'a bein' dead, ain't nothin' gonna stop me from putting myself between River and a bullet."

Mal and Simon shook on this agreement, Simon cracking just a hint of a smile, "I better go check on her."

Mal patted the doctor on the shoulder, "Get yerself some rest doc. I'll make sure she's alright. 'Sides, I'm sure there ain't much more ya can do and I doubt much has changed in the past 2 minutes."

Simon nodded and headed to Kaylee's bunk, while Mal entered the infirmary to check on River.

Seeing her still and asleep, his heart always broke for her. Everything Simon said, everything she'd been through, Mal would never know the half of it. It was a rare moment for the captain to weep for someone, but the sight of River at peace always broke him down effortlessly.

He quickly collected himself and simply sat beside her. For a moment the Tam sibling's time on Serenity played back in his mind. While they had certainly brought some less than pleasant times on the rest of the crew, as long as they'd have him as they're captain, they would always be his crew.


	2. Chapter 2

Not more than 2 hours later, as Simon had predicted, River was back in the Pilot's seat after giving Jayne a solid hit in the arm for once again referring to her as "moonbrained". While she wasn't "at" the controls, the bridge was her favorite part of the ship as she could simply stare off into space. For a few moments during these staring sessions, she could almost get lost enough in the black of space that the voices in her head quieted enough for her to have peace. Unfortunately, aboard Serenity, peace came in small doses.

"River!" Simon called from the Galley.

Her eyes closed tight as she replied, "I know."

The crew sat together to enjoy dinner. Simon sat next to Kaylee as always and River always seemed to find herself by Mal's side, directly across from Zoe. Jayne sat across from Simon, which also meant he sat next Kaylee. It irked Simon, but they had been "friends" much longer than Simon and Kaylee had been together. He knew Kaylee loved him and that was enough to keep the displeasure buried in the back of his mind. Inara put herself between River and Simon usually, and primarily to keep herself at distance from Jayne. He was harmless but that never stopped him from being inappropriate.

As the crew finished up and prepared to go their own ways, Mal addressed them, "Y'all know we don't have any work right now and that don't make me entirely comfortable. No work usually means no money and no money usually means no flyin'. I figure we're a few days out from Persephone and we could try and make some contacts. Worse comes ta worse we can always try and get somethin' outta Badger. We also need ta stock up on supplies and fuel."

The crew nodded in agreement and Mal attempted to address his pilot, only to find she had already made her way to the bridge. Mal turned to face Simon, "Ya know, I think one day I'll get used to that and just stop talkin'."

The crew giggled a bit at the captain's expense and headed their own ways. Mal headed to the bridge to get the report from River as to the course she planned. As usual, he needn't ask, she'd already known what he was to say.

"2 days, 4 hours, on a light burn. We'll save fuel and we have enough food to last us 3 full days." She turned to him as she finished her report and gave the captain a wink.

He smiled back, "Good night there little albatross."

With the course set in Serenity's computer, River returned to her bunk. With Simon staying in Kaylee's bunk, the passenger compartment was all hers. It kept her far enough away from the rest of the crew to keep their thoughts and dreams to a dull roar in hers. Shortly after Miranda, her dreams became increasingly violent forcing Simon to sedate her on a near nightly basis, sometimes more than once a night. Simon had been trying to rein in River's mind since they had been aboard Serenity. But, in these past few months, River had slowly become cognizant enough to begin attempting to train her own mind. She hadn't told Simon or any of the crew of what she had been doing at night, she simply did it and hoped the results would speak for themselves.

She sat up on her bed, her legs folded indian style, and placed her hands on her knees. Every night, the self-induced therapy began the same way, with images of the Academy flashing through her mind. The first night she'd attempted this, Simon found her on the floor near seizing, her screams piercing his ears as he put her down. But, as time went on, she began to learn to control it.

As she closed her eyes, images began to flash in her mind. Images of doctors in lab coats watching her, observing her like an animal as she was forced and programmed to rip people apart while they studied her in an effort to make her an even more deadly instrument. The resulting images caused her to twitch ever so slightly. She quickly gained control of her emotions and focused.

_Concentrate. Breathe. Relax._

The images in her mind slowly cleared, and all she was left with was the image of space. As long as they were floating, she was free and she took haven in that thought. She laid back and brought the covers to her neck. Her eyes still closed, and her mind still clear.

Serenity reached Persephone in 2 days time as River had predicted and the crew set about to complete their assigned tasks. Kaylee purchased spare parts for the engine, Jayne ammunition, Zoe food, and Inara medical supplies for Simon. Mal continued his hunt for work, which ultimately led to Badger. Unfortunately for Simon and River, Persephone was one of those planets they knew better than to set foot on.

At Badger's "office", the situation was all-the norm for Malcolm Reynolds.

"Why can't we ever have a conversation that don't involve these Hun-dans a'yers drawin' their guns on me?"

"We're just happy to see cap'n Reynolds ain't we chaps?" Badger replied.

"Alls I'm looking for is a little work, you don't have none, I'll be on my way."

Badger signaled his thugs to lower their weapons, but not put them away completely.

"Well as it happens, I have some merchandise I need to move. Thought about doin' it myself actually, but seein' as how you've come all this way to ask _me_ for work, perhaps we can make an arrangement."

Mal relaxed himself a bit and replied, "Think I'd be very appreciative a'that."

Mal and Badger continued to discuss the details of the job, which didn't really seem all that difficult, of course that made Mal even more worried. "_It's always the easy ones."_ he said to himself.

In the meanwhile, always looking to come home to her man as soon as possible, Kaylee was the first back to Serenity. Upon approaching the cargo bay doors, Kaylee felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly turned to see who it was.

The man was tall and thin, clean cut with a rigid jaw, but if his clothing said one thing about his character, it was that he was looking to put a hurt on someone.

"Is this Malcolm Reynolds ship?" He asked.

While Kaylee had her infamous sunny disposition for life, if someone came looking for her captain, she knew to be hesitant, "Who's askin'?"

In the meantime, Simon and River were in the Galley discussing her condition. In these conversations, Simon asked River questions which she answered both monosyllabically and monotone. She hated talking about what she'd been through but her nightly meditation helped her get through it. Simon must've been taking notice because as they got easier, the conversations also became longer and more frequent. She knew that he was only trying to help and she indulged his wishes and always answered his questions.

Without warning or notice, River sprung from her seat, her face turning whiter as she straightened herself out.

Her pupils dilated near instantly and she let out a scream, "KAYLEE!!!"


	3. Chapter 3

Two gunshots rang out from the cargo bay and as Simon stood, River was already at the door of the Galley.

She turned to Simon who was every bit intent on following his sister, "Stay here and lock the door, I'll call you when it's safe."

Of course screaming the name she did put Simon into an immediate state of panic, "What about Kaylee, is she…"

"I don't know, but don't follow me until I call for you."

Simon knew enough to listen to his sister and prepared to lock the Galley door behind her.

"Turn off the lights in the common room, infirmary and cargo hold after you lock the door." River ordered.

"River you won't be able to see!"

A glimmer of rage came over her knowing that every second she wasted arguing with Simon, Kaylee was dying.

She tried to remain calm as she once again ordered her brother, "I know every inch of this ship, shut the lights Simon."

Simon latched the door behind her. The doors to the cargo bay closed and the lights went out shortly thereafter as River made her way to the stairs. She knew how many steps it took to get to the stairs to the common room, and how many steps it took to get to the stairs that led to the cargo hold. She snuck into the hold undetected and focused. She read the thoughts of each of the men determining their positions.

There were 4 of them and they were all armed, 2 were on the catwalks and 2 were on the floor of the hold. But, with the lights switched off, they were all highly alert. The situation was in her favor knowing the layout of the hold, but 4 tense men would be 4 men itching to squeeze the trigger. Among the minds in the cargo hold, Kaylee's was in complete distress. She was in shock and in immense pain. Memories of Simon flashed through her mind only assisting River in becoming further enraged.

She walked as slowly as she silently could; her bare feet and light body coerced no noise from the grating as she maintained a steady pace.

She came to the first man on the catwalk. Standing right before him, he still hadn't noticed her and with minimal effort, her bare foot swiftly met his face knocking him over the railing and onto the floor of the hold. She could hear that his mind had gone blank signifying he was unconscious. A fall like that would hurt the next day but would not kill him and would keep him from getting in her way while she took on the other 3 men.

Of course the sound of the man's limp body hitting the floor brought about scattered gunfire throughout the hold, all of which had luckily missed her.

In the Galley, Simon heard the gunfire and grew even more tense. Then, like a voice in his head he heard River, _"Be ready Simon, Kaylee is going to need you. She's alive and she's strong, but she won't be able to make it through this without you."_

He didn't quite know what to make of what he had heard. It was almost as though River was in his head and for a change; he was the one reading her.

River approached the next man on the catwalk from behind. She quickly wrapped her right arm around his neck, and placed her left hand on his mouth. He struggled, but was silent throughout and limp moments later, also unconscious.

Reading the remaining two men, they still hadn't been alerted to her whereabouts. Moments later, a loud knocking broke the silence of the cargo bay as the captain called out from the other side of the doors.

"Kaylee!! Simon!! Better be a good gorram reason why I can't get in my gorram ship!!" Mal yelled. It was enough to further distract the other two men and bring them closer together and toward the bay doors.

With the two men on the move, River jumped from the catwalk gracefully and preparedly landing right behind them. They heard her land and as they attempted to react, she brought them both down not more than a second later.

She quickly headed to the control panel for the cargo bay doors, opened them, flipped the lights on, then headed to the comm unit, "Simon, get down here mah-shong."


	4. Chapter 4

Simon sprang from the Galley to find River already in the common room on her way to the infirmary, Kaylee laid out in her arms.

River could read her brother on his way down the stairs and answered accordingly, "She's been shot twice. Neither seems lethal but she's lost a lot of blood."

River put her friend down on the table she herself was all too familiar and ran back to the hold. She was relieved to find Zoe and Jayne had already begun restraining the 4 unconscious men. Mal immediately centered on River and again she read the captain, _"Report."_

"Simon and I were in the Galley, I didn't see them soon enough Mal, I'm sorry."

"No one's blamin' you for nothin' here River girl." He said with a smile in hopes to quell her tears, "Is everyone alright?"

Tears began to run down her cheeks and she continued her report, "They shot Kaylee."

Mal's face turned white and this time he got to ask his question, "Is she alright?"

"Simon has her in the infirmary. I'm not the doctor he is but I could feel her as I carried her to him. She's lost a lot of blood and she's frightened."

River's tears ran stronger as color began to return to Mal's face. He calmly addressed his shaken pilot, "I'm gonna go to the infirmary and make sure everythin's alright, but I need you to get to the bridge and get us off this rock mah-shong, can ya do that for me River?"

While she was still in hysterics, she gave the captain a nod and replied, "Yes sir"

River headed to the bridge and moments later the engine had fired up.

In the infirmary, Simon was working fervently to clean the wounds on Kaylee's shoulder. River was right, the bullets had made clean entrance and exit wounds but that also meant that Kaylee had 4 large caliber holes in her.

Zoe had begun to clean and dress the wounds at Kaylee's collar allowing Simon to begin stitching the wounds at her shoulder. An hour had passed and while Kaylee had stabilized, she was still unconscious.

Simon exited the infirmary with Zoe. With his girl on the table, he was a bit less collected than usual.

"How's she doin' doc?" Mal asked.

Simon's hand came over his own face in a physical attempt at calming himself.

"She's unconscious but she's stable. She lost a lot of blood and since I keep medical records for all of you, I know that Jayne can donate."

Without so much as a thought Jayne stood up and lifted his sleeve as he walked to the doctor, "So lets get on with it then."

Simon gave Jayne a smile as he walked past him on his way into the infirmary, a smile that warmed the captain and allowed him to breathe that much easier; all things considered. To see his two least associative crewmembers get along to help another without question or personal battle getting in the way; its what this family was all about.

Another hour had passed. River had set Serenity down in an abandoned stretch of desert on an unidentified, but terraformed moon.

In the infirmary, Kaylee's eyes began to open. She saw Simon's head lying on her belly and smiled a weak smile.

"Hey Simon."

Simon lifted his head from her stomach, "You're awake, oh thank Buddha."

He leaned over and delicately placed his hands on her head and kissed her as though he hadn't in months.

"How do you feel?"

"Just shiny." Her voice was warbled ever so slightly, clearly the effects of the pain meds he had given her.

"Is she awake?" River snuck up behind Simon and leaned her head over the table to get a look at her friend.

"Yes but she's…" Simon was cut-off by Kaylee, "You know your brothers really pretty?"

River giggled as Simon continued, "…kind of out of it."

The smile had all-but disappeared from River's face and she asked her brother, "Will she be alright?"

He smiled back at his sister, "I think she's going to be just fine mei-mei."

River gave Simon a smile and turned back to the captain who'd been waiting outside the infirmary.

"How's she doin'?" Mal asked.

River looked more distant than ever and stared at Mal blankly as she approached him. He was frozen stiff at the sight of the void in her eyes.

"Give me your gun." She demanded of the captain.

He hesitated for a moment causing River to cock her head to the side in impatience. Terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought, Mal handed his pistol to River, never taking his eyes off hers.

As River headed to the cargo hold, Mal looked in on Simon and nodded for him to come away from Kaylee for a moment. Judging by Mal's expression, whatever was about to happen, the doctor knew it was serious.

They followed her to the hold where a drowsy Jayne and Zoe had been unpacking and sorting the supplies they had picked up on Persephone. As River walked in the room, they both took notice of what she was carrying and approached her with the utmost of caution.

"River, what're ya doin' sweetie?" Zoe asked, a concerned and caring tone to her voice.

"Those men hurt Kaylee, now I'm going to hurt them." River replied.

"I know that's what you wanna be doin' but I think ya need ta calm down."

"One of you would interrogate them soon enough. Kaylee was shot on my watch. It's not your job or anyone else's to deal with them; it's mine."

Zoe was taken back by what she said.

Again tilting her head to the side, River spoke again, "Move."

Much as she respected River and River respected her, River wasn't stable and was lethal when she _wasn't_ holding a loaded and cocked firearm.

Jayne became Zoe's extended voice of reason; "I think you should be gettin' outta her way now."

He pulled Zoe out of the way and River approached the 4 men as Mal and Simon entered the hold.

Mal's gun in hand, she looked down at their restrained assailants and read them all. The man kneeling in the center of the group was their leader whom she softly and quietly sat in front of. She stared at him big eyed wearing the blank stare she wore the majority of every other day, the stare that still made every member of the crew just a bit leery of her.

Then almost out of comfort for the man before her, she gave a slight smile and whispered, "If you don't tell me what I want to know, I'm going to kill you."


	5. Chapter 5

Her whispers echoed throughout the cargo hold with a surprising clarity and Simon's eyes widened at what she had said. Listening to his sister's words, he was terrified for _her_ at what she might do the man before her.

Then River continued.

"It will take days for you to die, and I will make sure that you suffer as you've made my friend suffer, for every one of them."

She looked up at the man's beaten accomplices and continued, "Your friends will die much easier, and much quicker, but you will die alone and you will die in pain you've never thought possible."

The crew stepped back from River at that moment. Every member of the crew had been witness to River doing something close to, if not superhuman. While it was never spoken, they were all certain that they hadn't seen a quarter of what she was capable of, nor did they care to.

The bound man finally spoke to her, "I'm not telling you a damn thing you feng-le bitch so you might as well kill me now."

She flipped the gun in her hand and cracked the man across the jaw causing him to spit out a tooth.

"I don't like being called crazy." she calmly told him.

As he reeled from the hit he screamed at her again, "Fuck you! You'll get nothing from me!"

Continuing to stare him in the eyes she pressed the barrel of the gun to the joint in his left shoulder and with a twinge of anger in her eyes, she pulled the trigger. The man fell to his side wrenching in pain. Simon leaned to step to his sister and Mal reached out his arm to hold him back, his eyes remaining trained on River.

Again she spoke over the man's screams, "The hole I just put in your shoulder will take approximately 5 days to heal, and my brother will see to it that it does heal. The bone inside however, it will never fully heal for the rest of your days. Everyday you will feel the pain I have inflicted on you and you will think of this moment."

Jayne of all people began to shudder at her words. He had heard and seen a lot in his time being hired muscle, but with the cold words River spoke to that man, he almost felt pity for him. River reached down and grabbed the still lying man by the arm, her thumb pressing into the wound she just created and he screamed louder still as she sat him up to face her.

Again she continued, "This could be the last time I hurt you. We could leave you on this moon. My brother will fix you and you can all go. But if you do not help me now, I'm going to put another bullet in the same place 5 days from now, and it is going to hurt even more."

He stared into River's eyes. There was no emotion behind them, nothing that made him question her words, and his fear overtook him completely. A pin drop could be heard in the cargo bay and finally the man spoke, "Niska."

"Adelai Niska?" Mal asked, not realizing the admonishment he might have gotten for interfering with River's interrogation.

"No, Adelai is dead, his son Dimitri sent us."

"Thank you." River said.

She stood up and pushed the barrel of gun firmly to the center of the man's forehead. His eyes closed tight in fear and anticipation of his own death.

"After you walk off this ship, if I ever see you again, even by accident, you will be dead, dong-luh-mah?"

The man nodded furiously, tears engulfing his eyes. River turned her back to the man in conquest and fixed her eyes on Simon, "Fix him."

Simon nodded and approached the man, carefully standing him up and walking him to the infirmary. River watched the ordeal having not moved from where she initially stood. Mal walked over to her; her eyes still trained on her victim and asked, "You OK?"

She continued to stare at the man her brother was carrying until they rounded the corner of the common room and were out of sight.

"River?" Mal again tried to get through to her and without word or warning, her eyes closed and her knees gave way. Mal caught her and quickly put the situation together; River's head was burning like a computer that had been over-clocked.

In the common room, Simon was already at work on the man River had just beaten and shot. Kaylee still being in the infirmary, it probably wouldn't have been the greatest idea to put them together.

"I can suture your gum, and I'll clean and dress the wound. Just hold still." He was a doctor. Even though this man more than likely put two holes in the woman he loved, he couldn't bring himself to switch off his bedside manner.

The man sat silent on the floor of the common room as Mal entered with River.

"Mal! What happened to her?" Simon asked.

"Soon as you two walked outta the hold she damn near fell over."

"Is she conscious?"

"Best I can tell she's asleep like when you put her down at the maidenhead."

"Bring her to her bunk, I'll check on her as soon as I'm done here."

Roughly a half-hour later, Simon had finished dressing the man's wounds and comm'd Jayne to come and remove him.

Jayne came moments later, Vera in hand. He grabbed the man by his tied hands and brought him back to the cargo hold. Hoping to instill a good bit of fear and perhaps have some fun with the bastards who had shot his friend, Jayne addressed the 4 men, "Hey friends. Seein' as how we've had people get loose on us up here one too many times, me and Vera here'll be guardin' ya."

The men's eyes gazed upon the Callahan, Full-bore auto-lock that was Vera with terror in their eyes and Jayne soaked it up with a song in his heart.

Simon made his way to River's bunk, surprised to find the captain still with her.

"How is she?" Simon asked.

"Ain't that yer field?" Mal replied respectfully.

The captain moved out of Simon's way and the doctor began to check his sister over. Her pulse was normal and her head was warm, but not dangerously so.

He reached to lift her eyelids and as soon as he had, both of her eye's opened wide and she was awake, "Simon."

She had startled him making him nearly jump out of his skin.

"River, are you alright?"

"Head hurts." She replied. "Is Kaylee alright?"

"She's fine. This is the second time you've saved her life you know."

River smiled slightly, "You too."

"Thank you mei-mei."

River gave him a smile and before he could say another word, she had fallen to sleep. Simon moved her hair off of her face and he and Mal stood up quietly to leave her to rest.

As they entered the hall outside the common room, Simon saw Mal's eyes meet his, a confused look on his face.

"You have any idea what happened back there doc?"

"I'm pretty sure I just saw my sister efficiently and expertly torture someone."

"I need ya ta tell me what happened here, from when you heard the shots, ta when we came back on board."

Simon nodded and laid the story out for the captain. How River had him lock himself away and shut the lights.

How she disarmed and disabled all 4 men in the dark without getting a scratch. How she entered his mind and was able to communicate with him as though he'd been right next to her.

The look on Mal's face was concerned, but not afraid.

"How'd she do it?" Mal asked.

"I don't know. She saw the gunshots coming and we heard them a second later. I was almost certain I'd find her with her hands over her ears screaming."

"Think we both know she's stronger than that doc."

"Perhaps, but this situation was different."

"How ya figure that?"

"Serenity is her home Mal. Something bad happens to a normal person in the safety of their home and they're going to progressively melt down till they can't function. Something bad happens to an unstable, psychic, teenager in her own home, I'd have thought she'd have been near a seizure by what had happened."

"But she wasn't, that's good right?"

"It's not good, it's incredible."

"You've been sittin' with'er. Talkin' to'er, she's been gettin' better right?"

"Yes but this was unprecedented. We've all seen her do things we thought were impossible. What she did here is nothing short. I know her brain is powerful, but the concentration it had to have taken. I didn't know she was capable of it in her condition."

There was a brief pause and Simon continued his thought, "I need to talk to her when she wakes up. We need to talk about what happened."

Mal nodded, absorbing the doctor's words and sighed quietly. As Simon stood and walked away from Mal, Mal opened up the most he ever had to the young doctor, "Ya know doc, I'm really glad the two'a you are on our side."

Simon smiled and headed to the infirmary to keep Kaylee company through the night.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Simon woke to find Kaylee's hand in his hair. He had again fallen asleep with his head on her belly, and to his surprise she was awake.

"Good morning ai-ren." She said with a warm smile.

"Good morning to you." He replied.

They shared a kiss and a sigh of relief passed over Simon. While anything was possible, his years as a trauma surgeon reassured him that she was going to be fine.

"How're you feeling?" He asked.

Kaylee's eyes were still half closed as she replied, "A little fuzzy, other than that, not so bad."

"You should rest just a while longer. I know it's not the most comfortable table, but I don't really want to move you just yet." He told her.

"I know." She sighed, "I'll just relax a bit." She smiled trailing off and again fell asleep.

Simon quietly left the infirmary and dimmed the lights for her. He made his way to River's bunk and as he was about to knock, River acknowledged him, "Qing jin."

He entered the room and was confused at what he saw. Her eyes were closed and she was sitting up straight on the bed as she did when she would meditate at night.

"River, what're you doing?"

"I know you have questions. I've been keeping something from you Simon, I'm sorry but I had to do this myself."

Simon's face displayed concern, but he was highly intrigued, "What _have_ you been doing River?"

Her eyes slowly opened and she addressed the question, "Concentrating."

Simon's curiosity was written all over his face as River continued, "3 months and 12 days ago, I couldn't sleep. I wanted to call for you. I wanted something, anything that would make the voices and dreams end. But through the din, for the first time, I felt hate. Not for anyone or anything, but for myself. I hated that I was unable to control my thoughts."

Her speech was slightly fragmented throughout, but that had been the longest train of thought she had been able to put together in months.

"What did you do?" Simon asked.

"I thought of Inara."

Simon eyes flinched. What could Inara possibly have to do with this? Then River continued, "In passing I had seen her in this position many times and was unable to read her at those times. I thought if she could turn off her mind, perhaps I could do the same."

"So Inara taught you to…meditate?"

"No, I simply sat up in my bed, and tried to relax. The next thing I remember was waking up in the infirmary with you standing over me." She replied.

Simon nodded as the memory came to him; "I remember that night. I thought we might have lost you."

River smiled slightly as she replied, "But you didn't. Every night since then, it's gotten easier. I can fall asleep faster and I've been sleeping through the nights. I'm sure you've noticed an abundance of relaxing meds in your stock."

He nodded in agreement and River smiled.

"I'm so proud of you mei-mei. A year ago, I didn't know if we'd ever get you here. I should've known that in the end you wouldn't have needed my help to do it."

River wiped a tear from Simon's eye, "I never could have done it if you hadn't saved me in the first place Simon. I could never have any of this without you."

As Simon composed himself, he couldn't help but bring the thought of what had happened the day before; in particular, hearing River's voice in his head. The thought involuntarily came to the front of his mind.

"You still have questions." She answered.

He smiled as he knew what she had done and answered, "How did you do it River?"

Again she answered, "I don't know exactly. As I've learned control for the sake of clearing my subconscious at night, I believe a side-effect is greater control and expansion of what I may be capable of when I'm awake."

He sat back taking in what she had said and she continued, "I could hear you all the way from the cargo bay. You were both calling for each other. I wished so hard that I could bridge your minds so you could have comforted her. When they fired out of fear, I knew you'd be nervous, and it was like a door opened. I was in your mind and I told you what you needed to know."

Simon's face became one of concern at what his sister had told him. If she had enough control to do this once, she could certainly do it again. While this could be a good thing, the crew would certainly worry if they knew she could potentially take hold of their thoughts at any time.

"I wouldn't worry about it Simon." She said.

His eyes shut tight. Like the captain, he'd probably never get used to her unintentional reading.

"With further concentration and practice I might be able to project myself freely into someone's mind, but I'd only be able to speak. I don't think I could ever control someone's actions. I believe the only reason I was able to speak to you at that moment was due to adrenaline. As your strength is enhanced, your mind is also sharpened. You behave rashly but your mind will focus on the task you set for it."

Simon was amazed at his sister's intelligence as always. How she was able to dissect a situation, it was like watching her dance; she did it elegantly. As they paused for a moment, River's eyes fluttered. He could see that she wanted to rest a bit before beginning the day.

He gave her a smile, stood up and kissed her on the forehead, "River, I don't know what to say. Congratulations seems like the understatement of the century."

"It works." She said with a smile.

As Simon left River's bunk, he encountered Mal on his own way to the infirmary to check on Kaylee.

"How's yer sister doin'?" Mal asked.

Simon was a tad hesitant to answer his question. He wasn't quite sure how Mal would react.

"She's been meditating." He finally answered.

"Meditatin', like crossin' her legs and thinkin' real hard?" Mal replied.

"Something like that."

Mal and Simon sat themselves on the couch in the common room and Simon continued, "Do you remember me sedating her in the middle of the night a couple of months ago?"

"No offense doc but that seems to happen quite often"

"But, that's the thing, think about it Mal, it hasn't in weeks."

As the captain put it together, he realized that River really hadn't had an episode in quite some time. She was clearer, and more lucid than he'd ever seen. She hadn't spoken in third person in weeks.

"When she lost it that night she was screaming louder than I'd ever heard her, that was the first night she had tried meditating. An image of the Academy or Miranda must've flashed in her mind and being in a state of concentration, I'm sure there was a physical manifestation of pain as well."

Again, Mal's heart broke for River. Luckily, there was good news coming.

"I don't know how she's done it, but she has learned a degree of control. Her mind is still wide open because of the stripping done to her Amygdala, but somehow…" Simon couldn't hold back the smile River's accomplishment had brought him, "…she's keeping it under control."

"So she's doin' better?" Mal said with a smile.

"Yes, she's doing much better, better than I ever imagined."

Simon and Mal entered the infirmary to find Kaylee just coming to.

"Hey there Kaylee girl, how ya doin'?"

"Hey cap'n."

Her eyes were wide open now and she was much more clear headed.

"Almost feel good enough to see my girl again."

Mal looked at Kaylee confused and she quickly spelled out her thoughts, "The engine cap'n."

"Oh, well, s'long as the doc here says you're ok, I'm sure she be glad ta see you too."

"I would like her to stay off her feet as much as possible but she's your crew, I can't tell her what to do."

"Why don't you help her into her hammock in engine room, she needs anything she can call one'a us."

Simon gave Kaylee a smile at the sight of excitement on her face, "I think that would be alright."

Simon helped Kaylee off the table as Mal went to go check on his pilot. The door to her bunk was open when he arrived there but River was nowhere to be found. As always, when River couldn't be found the individual doing the looking began to panic. Even though Simon had just told him she was doing better, it would probably be a while before he could accept River as stable. He headed to the cargo bay to find Jayne playing eenie-meenie-minie-moe with the 4 assailants.

"You seen River?" Mal asked the merc.

"Moony? Not this morning." Jayne replied.

"Ya know ya could stop pickin' fun at the girl, ya might spend a lot more time conscious."

Jayne gave Mal a dirty look as he exited the hold in pursuit of River.

Mal headed through the common room, up through the Galley and to the bridge where he found River staring up at the sky. They still hadn't left the desert they'd landed in as they still had to deposit their assailants planet side. Albeit stranded and unarmed, but alive and patched up.

"Ah, there ya'are darlin'." He said to his protégé.

"Yes, here I am." She replied with a smile.

"We need ta get ta Whitefall ta drop off the packages we're movin' for Badger."

"Public drop or should we expect injuries?"

"Dropping off at someone's home actually."

Anticipating her comment, for once he got to reply before she had a chance to ask her question, "No, we're not delivering to Patience and no I don't plan on gettin' shot."

River cracked a smile at the captain and began to set the course. Mal had more to say to her and she promptly stopped her work, "You wish to talk to me about what happened."

"Not sa much, I just wanna make sure you're alright is all." Mal said reassuringly.

River hesitated for a moment to gather her thoughts before she answered the captain. Conversations like this were commonplace with Simon, but not so much with Mal.

"It feels like a fog that's lifted. Everything seems clear now. Your thoughts and the crew's, they're all still there and they always will be, but I'm learning to filter them."

Mal gave River a smile, "Makes me happy ta see ya doin' better River darlin'. You want me ta take them hun-dans off the ship or you want to finish up with'em?"

River smiled and turned back to the controls, "I'll be down in a minute captain."

As Mal walked to the door, River spoke to him again, "I'm still afraid of myself Mal. I'm getting closer to gaining a handle on things but I don't know what they've embedded in me. I'm going to try to fix it, I'm going to try and wipe it clean, but I need you to promise me that if the day comes that I'm a threat to you or the crew, that you will do what you have to, to protect them and yourself."

Mal knew exactly what she was talking about and while her words unsettled him he would never harm River.

"That is very comforting of you captain, but should that day come, you won't be dealing with me as I speak to you now. You'll be dealing with the Alliance's creation."

Mal felt a lump rise up in his throat as he walked back to River, a tear dropping from her eye. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her to him in a fatherly hug.

"Ain't never gonna happen bao-bei, ya hear? We'll always think'a somethin' to keep you safe, I promise. I love you like a daughter River Tam, I ain't ever gonna quit on ya."

His words brought her to tears and they shared their first surrogate father-daughter moment.

Zoe entered a moment later and quietly interjected, "Sir, think we'd all like to get those guys outta here and get off this rock."

Mal gave River a kiss on her forehead and headed with Zoe to the cargo hold. As they walked to the Galley, Zoe noticed River not following.

"She comin'?" Zoe asked.

"She'll be joinin' us in a minute, she's just settin' the course to Whitefall." Mal replied.

"You know if Patience sees ya she's gonna shoot ya again."

"Yes I know, thank you Zoe, your faith in me to complete a deal without gettin' shot is unending."

"No problem sir." Zoe replied with a smile.

On the bridge River laughed to herself at the exchange between Mal and Zoe as they arrived in the cargo bay. They would find Jayne was _still_ teasing the men with Vera moments later.

"You boys play nice?" Zoe asked.

"Nah, they ain't much fun. Always squirmin' and shakin'. I wasn't gonna hurt'em, not too much anyway." Jayne replied.

As usual, River arrived silently a moment later and instantly switched to the previous day's interrogator mode. She again sat before their leading man, who this time leaned back from her as she sat. The terror in his eyes was greater than it had been all night staring down Vera's barrel. She merely placed her hand on his bandaged shoulder causing his eyes to grow and his body to flinch.

"Remember what I told you, if I ever see you again, even if by coincidence, you will be dead before you hit the ground." River told the man.

Again he nodded furiously with his eyes shut tight.

River's eyes narrowed as she focused on the man before her. Reading through the anguish he was going through, she found buried in his thoughts the location of Dimitri Niska's operation and more.

"You don't work for him do you? He just hired you to hurt the captain." She asked.

This time, the man nodded _and_ spoke, "That's right."

"Don't worry, we _will_ find him before he finds you. He won't get a chance to punish you for your failure." She told the man as sweat poured off his forehead.

Jayne was quite jealous at her powers of intimidation. He'd have been lying if he said the girl didn't scare the hell out of him. For him there was no image more frightening than that of a Reaver attack. But seeing as how River had dispatched a room full of Reavers without receiving so much as scratch, made her even more frightening to the typically hardened merc.

River stood and headed back to the bridge. As she passed Jayne, she made a face and snarled at him. Jayne's defenses immediately surfaced in a panic and River laughed out loud menacingly.

"Ruttin' moonbrain!" He screamed as she reached the door to the common room. She turned wearing a devilish smile and stuck her tongue out at him, then exited the hold. He muttered under his breath, then angrily pointed the 4 men to the open cargo bay doors. They were still bound and gagged but they were alive.

They stood in the sand of the desert staring back at the ship. Mal added his own addendum to River's warning just as the engine fired up, "I find Niska's people lookin' anxious when we find'em, its gonna bode badly fer the 4'a ya. I'd suggest you get a move on. Sure y'all er'aware, but that sweet little girl back there ain't lyin' 'bout what she'll do ta ya."

The 4 men nodded at the captain, turned and began their walk to who-knows-where as the cargo doors closed and Serenity left the moon.


	7. Chapter 7

Mal and Zoe headed back towards the bridge while Jayne and Vera headed to his bunk to sleep after guarding the 4 men through the night. Fun as it was tormenting the bastards that had shot his friend, Jayne had been awake for nearly 30 hours _and_ given blood to Kaylee. His rest was deserved and overdue.

"So'er we goin' to confront Niska sir?" Zoe asked.

"I'm sure'is hell thinkin' that's what River'd like ta do. Seems only right seein' as how he sent people here hopin' ta shoot me and ended up shootin' my mechanic. Yeah, I conjure I might have a few things I'd like ta say ta that man." Mal replied.

"You know we'll be more than outnumbered sir."

"When ain't we?"

"Ain't the point. We're a family'a 7 out here and 3 of us er the furthest thing from soldiers. We go in to Niska's place, wherever it is and some of us are gonna bleed."

"This won't be the case." River interjected. Mal and Zoe hadn't noticed her as she snuck into the common room.

"Did you see somethin' on that guy River?" Mal asked.

"Dimitri's facility is on Osiris." River replied to only be greeted by fear on Mal and Zoe's faces. They knew Osiris was where the Academy in which River had been experimented on was located.

River shuddered as the images they'd fabircated in their minds of the Academy were displayed in hers. Her eyes shut tight and she addressed their concern, "No, its nowhere near that place. It's also not the fortress we'd have assumed it was…it's a market."

This stunned Mal and Zoe.

"So he ain't got no big station like his daddy did?" Mal asked.

"No, Adelai's station was commandeered by the Alliance shortly after we left it. Dimitri's place of business is a butcher shop on Osiris' rim."

Mal's jaw dropped, "He runs a gorram butcher shop, that's it? He don't got'an army er'nothin'?" Mal asked.

"I'm not sure, I'd like to get closer to Osiris to try and read him directly, but, one of the images I saw in that man's mind was a room smaller than my bunk with Dimitri alone behind a desk." River replied with a smile.

Mal and Zoe laughed to themselves. While this would make targeting Niska easier, Mal would still be unable to confront him without giving himself away. Regardless, Niska's operation being as small as River saw it to be; it could wait.

Serenity followed the course River plotted to Whitefall so the drop could be made to Badger's client. Later that day Mal and Inara sat in the Galley discussing the nature of the drop over a few glasses of Kaylee's engine wine.

"So what are you "transporting" for Badger this time?" Inara asked.

"Jus' supplies I think. Protein, medicine and the like." Mal replied.

"Badger doing a noble man's work?"

Taking a sip of Kaylee's engine wine, Mal nodded and replied, "I am amazed."

Taking a sip of the wine herself, Inara fidgeted nervously in her seat. The captain knew something was on her mind and promptly prodded, "Whats'a matter 'Nara?"

"River." She replied open-ended.

"What about her?"

"She's doing better isn't she?"

"I reckin' so. She hasn't had a bad episode in weeks; she's sleepin' sound through the nights. Almost hard to believe she's the same girl we picked up so many months ago."

"You've grown quite attached to her haven't you?" She asked.

Mal nodded with a proud smile on his face, "I suppose I have. Girl's probably the closest thing I'll ever have to a daughter."

The look of concern on Inara's face nearly worsened at Mal's words and he took notice, "Come on Inara, talk ta me, whats on yer mind?"

"Its just…someone in her condition, gaining control like she is, it's great and I really am happy for her. But months ago after we left Ariel, Simon had mentioned the filtering systems in her brain had been physically removed. I'm not much of a doctor, but the feelings she's controlling, just because they aren't front and center, doesn't mean they're not still floating around inside her head."

Mal's face was concerned but collected, he addressed Inara's concern as best he could, "River's strong 'Nara, stronger than any'a us. Simon's doin' everything he can ta help her, and us just bein' here for her, I know she can pull through this, I feel it in my heart."

The companion smiled a hint of false relief, "I hope so Mal. I don't want you to think I'm telling you this because I don't care for River. I just pray she doesn't boil over."

Mal nodded. He knew she meant no harm and was just trying to keep a perspective on the situation. He also knew she was probably right. Even though she'd been doing better, River herself said she was still afraid of what, if anything, could happen.

With that, he headed to the bridge to check on his Pilot. Per her usual, her knees were folded to her chest and she was staring into space.

"She's right captain."

"I fear she might'a been…"

River's head sank with sadness, then Mal continued, "…don't matter if she is."

River's head slowly lifted wearing a smile, "Thank you."

Mal gave River a hug and headed to his bunk for the night while she continued to stare off into space, eventually dozing off.


	8. Chapter 8

River's eyes opened in a panic. She had heard screaming echo from the galley, and throughout the ship. She sprung from her seat at the bridge and immediately ran to investigate. She heard nothing in her mind, which was either a good thing or a very bad thing.

As she passed through the crew's quarters, she noticed all of the bunks open. It was the middle of the night cycle, what would they be doing out of their bunks, she thought.

As she continued to the Galley she heard screaming coming from the cargo hold. She upped her pace to the engine room and froze solid. Her skin paled, and her eyes widened, filling completely with tears instantly; her hands rose to cover her mouth at the sight before her.

On the floor of the engine room, Simon lay atop Kaylee in a pool of blood. Their eyes were wide open in fear and both of their throats had been cleanly slit. Checking them was unnecessary; they were dead. She knelt down to them; her body convulsing as she sobbed and closed their eyes.

She stood up from her brother and her friend, wiped the tears from her eyes and continued toward the cargo hold. She didn't know who or what had done this, but she had to try and help the rest of her family.

As she made her way to the cargo hold, she found Zoe, throat also cleanly slit, also dead. Inara, Jayne and Mal still unaccounted for.

As she continued to the hold sobbing frantically, she found Jayne. His windpipe had been crushed under the weight of his own exercise equipment. River cringed for the poor guy. He had never liked her but she never wished any pain on him let alone the tormented death he received.

As she looked around the hold she found Inara's body hanging over the catwalk. Blood dripped from her throat, as with the others, it had been slit. Bloodied and cold, the companion's form was still elegant. River mourned her for a moment, blinked the tears from her eyes and made her way to find Mal.

She knew she'd find him as she found the others. The captain had just warmed to her, he had called her his daughter, and now she might lose the closest thing she'd had to a father in years.

As she circled back to the galley, 2 gunshots rang out from the bridge. Again she rushed to investigate and nothing could have prepared her for the horror she witnessed. Even the sight of her brother and his lover, her friend dead in each other's arms couldn't compare.

She saw Mal lying on the floor, bullet holes through his head and chest. Tears poured from her eyes as she looked up to the person who'd undoubtedly killed her family; herself.

River stared at the doppelganger in horror. The emotionless copy raised her gun and squeezed the trigger. River tracked the bullet as it moved as though in slow motion, but she did not move. There was nothing left for her in this life. In a moment of perfect clarity, she welcomed the bullet into her and saw her salvation in death.


	9. Chapter 9

River jumped out of her seat at the bridge letting out a horrified scream.

Simon emerged from Kaylee's bunk and was on the bridge within' 10 seconds, relaxer in hand. To his dismay, he found River as he hadn't in a long while. Her body was curled up in a ball on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees keeping them tight to her chest, and she was rocking back and forth. She was mumbling to herself and in that moment, Simon felt like the past 3 months of peace for his sister had never happened. Something had caused her to regress instantly.

He carefully approached River and tried getting through to her, "Mei-mei, it's Simon, can you hear me?"

"She killed her family, cut their necks and let them die, killed herself and didn't cry."

Simon knew that whatever was going on in her head, she was suffering. He carefully injected her, eventually slowing her rocking to a halt and she began to tip over. Simon caught her and gently laid her on her side as Mal came onto the bridge, "What happened?"

"I don't know, I heard her scream and found her on the floor."

"Was she dreamin'?"

Simon took River in his arms and made his way to the door to the crew's quarters, "I don't know. She should be out for at least an hour after the shot I gave her. I'm going to take her to her bunk and stay with her for the rest of the night, hopefully she sleeps through it."

"She gonna be OK?"

"I don't know what set her off, I have no idea what's going on inside her head."

Simon carried River to her bunk, laid her on her bed and covered her as he had so many nights before. As he took a seat in her bunk, he slowly began to cry. To his surprise, he would find Mal looking in on the two of them a moment later.

"It's bad isn't it?" Mal whispered.

"I don't know. I need to wait for her to be conscious to try and find out what happened, what set her off. I hope I remember how." Simon quietly replied.

"Try and rest doc, I'm sure if she needs ya, you'll know 'bout it. I or anyone else can help you'er her in anyway, you let me know."

Simon gave Mal a nod and put his head back to try and sleep.

He awoke the next morning to find River hadn't moved since he laid her down a few hours earlier. He promptly checked her vitals and her pupils. Thankfully she was just sleeping. He made his way back to Kaylee's bunk to check on her, finding her carefully pulling a T-shirt over her bandaged shoulder.

"Is River alright?" She asked.

"She's sleeping and her vitals are normal, but last night was a pretty bad episode." He replied.

"There such a thing as a good episode?"

"I suppose not but usually we can break through to her. Last night she was completely engulfed in whatever she had been dreaming about. I tried talking to her but she was speaking in riddles again."

"I'm sorry Simon. We all saw how much better she was doin', hopefully she'll be able to just bounce back from this."

"I hope so, I really can't stand seeing her like this."

"I know bao-bei, jus' give her time."

Simon smiled at Kaylee and gave her a kiss just as Simon's stomach growled.

Kaylee giggled at the sound and addressed it accordingly, "You should probly get yerself somethin' ta eat, I gotta go check on the engine anyways."

Simon made his way to the Galley, quickly fixed himself a cup of tea and inhaled a protein bar. Mal entered as Simon was cleaning up after himself.

"Mornin' doc. How's River doin'?" Mal asked.

"She slept through the night and her vitals are normal this morning. Hopefully when she wakes up she'll be back to her old self."

"Ya think she'll be awake soon? I don't wanna push'er or nothin' but we're comin' up on Whitefall, be good if she could set us down sooner rather tha…"

As Mal attempted to finish his thought, to both his and Simon's surprise, River entered the Galley.

"…than later?" She continued for the captain.

Mal and Simon focused on her and she continued with a smile, "Yes, she can. Don't worry you two, I'm feeling better now."

River made her way to the bridge and Simon and Mal followed her.

"River, you're feeling alright? You're not dizzy or anything mei-mei, no headaches?"

"No. A little tired, but nothing serious I think." She replied.

"River girl, if you ain't up to this, Zoe or me can always handle it." Mal said with concern.

"I'm fine captain. We all knew I might lose it sooner or later and we all need to accept it for what it was; inevitable. Even meditating as I've been, it would only be a matter of time before something like this happened. We've all thought it or said it; I am controlling the thoughts, but they _are_ still there."

Mal and Simon nodded in acceptance of what River said.

"If it is OK with the both of you, I'd prefer to not discuss it further right now. If it happens again just as bad tonight, then we will have something to discuss."

Mal and Simon had no choice but to again accept River's words. She turned back to the controls and in an effort to put them at ease, she answered the question Mal never got to ask.

"We'll be planet side in an hour captain." Again she turned and gave Mal a wink.

Mal smiled and walked to the Galley, Simon following him shortly after. After reaching the infirmary where Simon was to inoculate Mal for his journey planet side, Mal stated his concern, "You think she'll be alright?"

"We're going to have to wait and see. I'll try and talk to her while you and Jayne make the drop. Hopefully she doesn't beat me up for it."

Mal nodded, then flinched as Simon shot him with the inoculation.

River delicately touched Serenity down on Whitefall as Mal emerged from the lower deck.

"Jayne!" Mal yelled.

Jayne came up from his bunk shortly thereafter, guns and ammo draped all over him. As they came across each other in the Galley, the captain continued, "Get down to the infirmary and get inoc'd 'fore we go."

Jayne dropped his supplies in the Galley and descended the stairs to the infirmary as Mal headed to his bunk to stock up on ammo himself. As he closed his bunk on his way back to the Galley, he ran into Zoe.

"Plannin' on runnin' inta Patience after all sir?" She remarked.

"Nope, just tryin' to be prepared is all. This is a crazy verse we live in Zoe." Mal replied with a smile.

Mal pressed additional clips into various pockets as Simon and Jayne came through the Galley. Jayne looked at Mal with excitement drawn across his face at the sight of Mal pocketing extra ammo.

"Grenades?!" He said with hope in his voice.

After the last incident in which Jayne wanted to, but was told _not _to bring grenades, he usually got Mal's blessing to bring them every time.

Mal nodded, "I suppose so, not too many though. Small and fast-reloadin's always preferred."

Before Mal had even finished, Jayne had scurried to retrieve a few grenades from his bunk.

In the cargo hold, Kaylee was prepping the mule as she always did for drop-offs such as this. Mal and Zoe arrived in the hold first and began loading Badger's crates onto the mule. At the sight of the captain's pockets being loaded with extra ammo, Kaylee couldn't resist tormenting him.

"You're not plannin' on runnin' inta Patience are ya?"

Mal stopped work and simply looked at Kaylee and Zoe who were both giggling to themselves.

"What is it with you two, always bankin' on me gettin' inta trouble with Patience 'round these parts." Mal said with a hint of hostility in his voice.

"She has shot ya twice cap'n." Kaylee remarked.

He couldn't really argue with her, seeing as how she wasn't really wrong. He simply swayed his head in disapproval as Kaylee and Zoe shared a laugh.

Jayne walked in a moment later armed to the teeth and with no explanation necessary, elicited even greater laughter from Kaylee and Zoe.

"What I miss?" He asked.

"Oh nothin', got yer grenades?" Kaylee asked with a smile.

Jayne smiled back and lifted the pack draped across his chest, 3 grenades strewn across it prompting a reply from Zoe, "Well at least if they find a war they can get themselves inta trouble."

Jayne and Mal boarded the mule and Mal gave instructions to Kaylee and Zoe.

"We should only be gone 'bout an hour, should we NOT run in ta Patience."

Kaylee and Zoe smiled at each other and the captain continued, "Keep'er warm for us."

"Aye-aye cap'n." Kaylee replied with a smile.

The mule slowly left the hold and Zoe promptly closed the doors behind them.

Meanwhile, Simon had come up to change his clothes, on his way to see River on the bridge. When he got to the bridge however, his sister was nowhere to be found.

As mild panic came over him he called to her, "Mei-mei?!"

As he crossed through the Galley he ran into Kaylee who was happy as always to bump into her man.

"Hey bao-bei." She gave Simon a kiss and continued, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Have you seen River?" He asked.

"Yeah she's in the common room sittin' on the stairs. I tried talkin' to'er but she seems kinda depressed. Said she'd come to me if she needed somethin'."

"Oh, alright. I uh…" Simon gestured with his hands that he needed to go check on her.

"…need to check on her, I figured bao-bei, I'll be in the engine room." Kaylee said with a smile and a kiss.

Simon headed to the stairs and now bumped into Zoe.

"Hey Zoe." He said in passing.

"I think River's lookin' for you doc." Zoe said.

"Is she…" Simon left his question open for a reply.

"She's right around the corner." She replied with a smile and a gesture.

Simon looked around the corner and as Zoe and Kaylee said, River was sitting on the stairs to the cargo hold.

Simon approached her slowly and quietly as to not startle her, "Hey mei-mei, I was looking for you."

"I know. You want to talk to me about my dream." She replied.

"River if you don't want to talk about it, its alright, I understand."

Her voice trembled slightly as she replied, "If I don't talk about it soon, I think I might lose it again."

Simon sat beside River on the stairs and swallowed in preparation for what she might have in store for him.


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't remember falling asleep, but when I woke up in my dream, I heard screaming. My thoughts were mine only and after the screams, the ship was silent. That's when I found you."

As River continued to lay out the details of her dream, Simon sat with his mouth agape, at a complete loss for words. Hearing a detailed description of how River had found him, Kaylee and every other member of the crew brutally murdered by none other than herself had that effect on the doctor.

When she was done, Simon again swallowed and switched to doctor mode, "Do you remember what had happened before you fell asleep?" he asked.

"If my memories are to be trusted, I had just overheard Mal and Inara in the Galley discussing a possible meltdown on my behalf."

Simon's eyes shut tight. You'd think that everyday aboard Serenity the crew would get more accustomed to River's unintentional reading.

"They were right Simon. These thoughts are always there. I am getting better at controlling them, but I don't know if I'm helping or hurting." She said.

"River, no one expects you to get better over night. We all love you on this ship and we're all going to do everything in our power to help you." Simon re-assured her.

"He said I was like a daughter Simon."

Simon looked at her confused.

"Mal. He said he loved me like I was his daughter. He meant it too. I never felt anything like that come off the captain."

Simon saw the bond forming between the two of them for the past few months that River had been piloting Serenity. They'd always be laughing or joking with each other about one thing or another. For a while Simon believed it might have been turning into more than just a father-daughter relationship. The thought bugged him, but in their world whom else might she turn to?

Regardless, hearing that Mal had set the record straight on his feelings for River put Simon's mind at ease. Still, the thought of River being attached in such a way to a man who was constantly on his table brought a whole 'nother range of emotions to Simon's mind. He was in a bit of shock that River hadn't picked them out they were so loud in his head.

After a long pause, Simon began to finish up the conversation, "Are you alright mei-mei?" he asked.

"I need some rest, but I think I'll be OK in a few days." She replied.

Simon gave her a smile that she returned, but suddenly, everything changed.

River's face had been instantly stripped of expression and color, her pupils dilated and she began to shake and yell, "No, no, NO!!!"

Her yelling grew louder before reaching a crescendo, "MAL!!!"

River's eyes opened wide as ever and lead to the most ear-piercing scream Simon had ever heard from his sister.

She fell to her knees from the stairs and brought her hands to her ears. Her eyes quickly shut tight as her screams continued and her body began to shudder. Simon stood panicked for half-a-heartbeat before entering doctor mode and tending to his sister.

He took her in his arms and tried to get through to her, "River! Talk to me xiao mei-mei what happened to Mal?!" He shouted.

River's screams continued and she managed to get out a few words, "He's hurt Simon, he's in so much pain."

Over the course of a second, images blazed through River's mind like wildfire; the ship, the captain, everyone on board, and those who had hurt Mal; Reavers.

Engulfed in tears, River pried herself from Simon's arms and ran to the bridge.

"River what're you doing?!" He shouted.

"Reavers, following Jayne and Mal, we need to go now!" She yelled back from the Galley.

"But what about…" Simon was cut off as Jayne screamed from the cargo hold, "Doc! Git in here NOW!"

From the bridge River had all-but calmed herself and comm'd Kaylee in the engine room, "Kaylee, we need to burn hard right now!"

Kaylee prepped the engine in record time and Serenity was up not a moment later.

"She's ready River." Kaylee replied.

The Reaver ship continued to close on them and River again comm'd Kaylee who was as of yet unaware of the situation. River began to explain the situation as calmly as she could to her friend.

"Kaylee, I need you to stay calm. There is a Reaver ship right behind us."

Kaylee's face turned white and River continued, "We need to dump fuel to try and destroy or at least de-rail it."

Kaylee prepared the engine for the maneuver and a moment later comm'd River back, "She's ready."

"Go."

The tail of the ship glowed like the sun and let out a controlled nuclear fire that completely engulfed and decimated the Reaver ship.

"Good work Kaylee." River once again said over the comm.

"Sure they ain't followin'?" Kaylee asked, but did not receive a response. "River?"

Kaylee emerged from the engine room and ran to the Bridge. She found River slumped over in her chair, her eyes closed and her body twitching somewhat. Kaylee was horrified at the sight of her friend who was clearly suffering. She reached over to the comm River had used not more than a minute ago.

Meanwhile in the infirmary, Simon had begun working on Mal. The captain had been stabbed multiple times.

"What the hell happened Jayne?!" Zoe asked.

"We was makin' the drop and outta nowhere gorram Reavers just showed up. They was everywhere. Three of'em got Mal, wasn't nothin' I could do about it." Jayne replied.

"Doesn't matter how it happened, he's in very bad shape regardless. Zoe, I need you and I need Inara, Jayne go…" As Simon was about to instruct Jayne to get the companion, Kaylee came through on the comm.

"Jayne! River's unconscious up here, I need you to come and get'er." Kaylee screamed.

As Kaylee glanced at the controls, she noticed Serenity running on bare minimums. Before she had passed out, River must have compensated knowing they just used at least half of their fuel load.

"_Good girl."_ She said to herself.

In the infirmary, Jayne turned to Simon and replied, "I'll get yer sister, Kaylee'll get Inara."

As Jayne ran to the bridge he passed Kaylee, "Go get Inara, tell her to get to the infirmary mah-shong, got it?"

Moments later they all entered the common room. Jayne not so gently dropped River down on the couch outside the infirmary and Inara ran in to help Simon.

"You know how to stitch someone up?" Simon asked of Inara.

Clearly shaken at the sight of Mal in such bad shape, the companion's speech was fragmented, "I was to taught to tend to my clients should they need tending to."

"There's needle and thread ready in the drawer behind you, _tend_ to his hip." Simon ordered.

2 hours later, Simon, and Inara exited the infirmary to a still unconscious River, and anxious Jayne and Kaylee.

"He's critical at best. He had a puncture in his left lung and his stomach. I've taken care of both best I can but he needs blood. Zoe's hooked up to him and we should know more within' the hour." Simon reported.

Kaylee who was already in tears cried harder while Jayne simply got up and began punching and kicking things in the common room.

"That ain't exactly gonna help Jayne." Zoe shouted from the infirmary with disapproval.

"Makes me feel better though." He replied, equally dissatisfied with the situation.

Simon's mind finally caught up with him as he noticed River lying on the couch, "River." He said quietly.

He quickly moved to the couch and checked her vitals. They were normal; she was just sleeping.

"Any idea what happened to her?" Simon asked Kaylee.

"She said Reavers were on us. I figured she just got to the point where she couldn't handle anymore, ya know, mentally." Kaylee replied.

It made sense to Simon. First Mal had gotten hurt, than with Reavers chasing them; the fact that River was able to focus long enough to act had saved them all.

"_Good work mei-mei."_ He said to himself eliciting a slight smile from River's subconscious.

He covered her with a blanket that was on the couch and Kaylee propped her up, sliding a pillow under her head.

"Thanks bao-bei." Simon said receiving a smile from Kaylee, then he began a second round of doctor speak, "I'm going to go check on Mal. Kaylee, could you see where we're headed?" He asked.

"We're not going anywhere. River got us a good distance from the planet and set the ship to hibernate. We're just floating."

"We have life support and what-not?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, we're fine for a few days but we burned up a lot of fuel, we're going to need to get to a filling station."

"Could you…" Simon began, but was cut-off by Kaylee, "Already ahead'a you ai-ren."


	11. Chapter 11

Kaylee set a course back to Persephone to complete the transaction with Badger and fill Serenity with fuel. Sure the delivery was in vein as the town was more than likely completely destroyed by Reavers, but they fulfilled their end of the bargain, and one way or the other, Badger was going to fill his.

Later that day, Inara, Zoe, Kaylee and Jayne shared a meal in the Galley. They were all silent and void of expression throughout, all of them in tormented thought of their injured captain. Kaylee in particular was in a constant state of tears. Inara reached her arm around Kaylee bringing her closer to her offering comfort to her friend, "The captain is going to pull through this Kaylee."

Kaylee nodded, but continued to sob regardless. She cleaned her place at the table and prepared some food for Simon. As she crossed through the common room on the way to the infirmary, she noticed River still in the same place on the couch. Seeing the blanket covering her rise and fall, she breathed a sigh of relief.

In the infirmary, Simon sat asleep by Mal's side. Kaylee entered quietly, but Simon being at the very peak of doctor mode woke up at the slightest sound.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She said.

"Its alright, I should've _been_ awake." Looking at the tray of food she was holding, Simon inquired with a smile, "Is that for me?"

"Its not much but I figured you could use a bite ta eat." She replied.

"Thanks bao-bei." Simon said with a smile.

Simon began to eat as Zoe and Inara joined them quietly in the infirmary, immediately asking questions.

"How is he doing Simon?" Inara asked.

Swallowing a few bites of a protein bar, Simon replied, "He's still unconscious, but he seems to have stabilized."

"Why're ya'll talkin' 'bout me like I ain't here." Mal said quietly from the table.

"Cap'n!!" Kaylee said loudly as his family rushed to his side.

His voice was strained, but he continued to speak, "Hey what's with all the fussin' and yellin', you'd think someone almost died'er somethin'."

"Oh captain I thought we might'a lost you." Kaylee continued hysterically.

"What're ya talkin' about? Everythin's fine Kaylee girl, I'm gonna be alright."

As the crew shared a cumulative sigh of relief, River had woke and quietly made her way to the door of the infirmary. Mal looked up and saw her, giving her a small smile, "Hey there little albatross."

Kaylee turned to her friend and smiled, "Did'ya hear River? The cap'ns gonna be alright."

River's skin was pale and tears began to run down her cheeks, "No he's not."

As the words crossed her lips, Mal's head fell limp onto the table and his heart monitor signaled that his heart had stopped.

"Mal!" Inara yelled.

"Everybody back!" Simon ordered.

Zoe, Inara and Kaylee stepped back to give the doctor his space. River stared on wide-eyed and shaking in fear for Mal. For her, it was like the scene in her dream had all-but come true as her captain lay dying on the table.

Simon pulled the defibrillator off the wall and prepared to shock Mal.

"Clear!" He yelled.

He pushed the paddles to Mal's chest and his body jolted from the shock. The monitor flashed, but continued to let out the steady tone, of a silent heart. He repeated for the following two minutes and switched to conventional CPR.

"1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000…" He counted to himself. For a fraction of a second, he had begun to lose hope, stepping away from Mal ever so slowly. Simon's mind raced to collect his thoughts and form a solution. Mal was completely unresponsive and his heart hadn't been beating for at least 3 minutes, too much longer and he could suffer brain damage.

River walked toward Mal slowly and broke down further with each step she took. As Simon reached for a shot of Adrenaline, River collapsed onto the side of the table. Tears saturated her face as she cried.

"Daddy! Please don't die daddy I love you!! I'm sorry I couldn't help, I'm so sorry please don't leave me, please!!"

Zoe, Inara, and Kaylee near simultaneously brought their hands to their mouths and gasped at River's words as she continued sobbing frantically.

"Please, please, please don't go Mal, please. I need you, I can't get through this without you, please!!!"

Simon reached to pull her away and before he could even get his hands on her, she turned to Simon and went from destroyed daughter to un-caged animal, "Don't touch me!"

She turned her head back to Mal, still overcome by tears and laid her head on his. As she did days ago for Simon, her mind opened and she was in Mal's head.

"_We need you to come back to us Mal. We never got to say goodbye. I never got to tell you I loved you as you loved me. You can't go I won't be able to get better without you. Please…WAKE UP GODDAMNIT!!!"_

A gasp for air erupted from Mal's lips with no apparent interference from anyone and his heart monitor began to ring again. The crew collectively gasped for air at the sound of Mal's heart coming back to life.

"Mei-mei, I need you to move." Simon asked calmly, but River did not respond. As he reached for her, her body fell to the floor limp, which put Simon into an immediate panic, "River!"

Simon reached and quickly checked her vitals to find she was unconscious again.

"Zoe get River out of here." Simon ordered.

With Inara's help, Zoe promptly picked River up off the floor and brought her back into the common room and back onto the couch as Simon began to check the captain over.

He came out of the infirmary a few moments later and gave his report, "He's stable again. I don't know how and the only explanation I can think of sounds crazy."

"We do crazy here, try us doctor." Zoe replied as calmly as possible.

"When Kaylee was shot days ago, River…talked to me from the cargo hold."

"Like she yelled to ya?" Jayne asked.

"No. She somehow found a way to get into my mind. She told me I needed to be ready, that Kaylee would need me and that she was scared. I think she just did something similar to the captain. She might've given his brain some kind of kick-start. I-I don't know…"

"You really think she could be capable of doing something like that?" Inara asked.

"The human mind has been under observation for centuries and we haven't learned a fraction of what it is capable of. River's brain is probably more powerful than most of the supercomputers the verse has known. Now with the control and strength she has developed over it…who knows what she is going to be capable of." Simon replied.

As the crew took in the young doctor's words, Simon continued, "Regardless, after what just happened I'm going to have to stay with Mal till he wakes up again. I think it would be a good thing for everyone to try and get on with their day. There's nothing more any of us can do except wait for his condition to change."


	12. Chapter 12

The crew had been about the ship for hours. They had all taken care of their daily routines bit-by-bit but all inevitably ended up pacing in place in thought of Mal.

Outside the infirmary, Simon began to hear his sister crying from the common room and ran to check on her.

"River, are you alright?" He asked.

River eyes were closed but tears covered her face and she was shaking slightly.

"She can't do it. She can't control it anymore. It's tearing her up. They're always inside her." She replied in a panic.

Simon's eyes welled up and he tried to get through to her, "River, look at me River, focus mei-mei come on."

River's eyes opened like broken windows and he placed his hands on her face to try and keep her eyes on him. He brought her to him in a tight hug and tried again, "River, listen to my voice, relax, just calm down."

River's body slowly began to steady itself, still suffering an occasional spasm, but her tears slowed, and a single voice clearly resonated in her mind.

"Mal?" She said with now dry open eyes and an inquisitive stare, almost as though the captain was right in front of her.

Simon loosened his embrace so that he could look at her as he spoke, "River can you hear him?"

A wide smile overtook her face. The tone in her voice had perked up, "He's better Simon, he's almost awake."

Simon reached his arms around her again giving her a tight hug, happy to have his sister back. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and headed into the infirmary to check on Mal. River quickly sat up on the couch and her entire body cracked and creaked. She wrenched slightly at the pain and _slowly_ proceeded to stretch her arms and legs. She stood a moment later following Simon into the infirmary to see the captain.

As Simon entered the infirmary, Mal was just coming to. His eyes were barely open but his persona was alive and well, "Hey doc." He said with a horse voice.

"Mal, how're you feeling?" Simon asked.

Mal sighed, "Like I done got a lot a holes in me. How long've I been out?"

"Almost a day. We thought we might have lost you a few hours back. Your heart stopped for nearly 3 minutes before…"

As Simon continued to describe the situation to the captain, Mal's eyes opened completely and he finished Simon's thought, "…River."

"You heard her Mal?" Simon asked.

A few tears dropped from Mal's eyes running slowly down the sides of his face. Simon might never have felt so uncomfortable in his life as he did at that moment. While he wasn't sobbing hysterically, the sight of tears in the captain's eyes were new to him.

"Mal?" Simon asked.

"I heard every word she said ta me and a couple she didn't say. I'm willin' ta bet you ain't got no good reason fer me ta be alive on this table talkin' to ya."

Simon's eyes wandered before responding, "Medically…no, I don't. The only thing I could come up with is that she got in your head and gave your brain a kick-start."

Mal's eyes remained focused on the ceiling above him as he answered Simon, "I heard her clear as day. S'like you told me…" Mal turned his head to Simon and continued, "She told me what I needed ta know." Mal replied with a slight smile.

Simon's curiosity over took him, "If you don't mind me asking, what did she say to you Mal?"

Mal smiled at River who had quietly snuck up behind Simon, "Ask'er yerself doc."

Simon turned to see his sister and nearly fell out of his chair. Her face had been within an inch of his and she had startled him. He turned to Mal whose eyes were closed as he quietly chuckled to himself at the doctor's expense.

Simon looked back at River who too was giggling at her brother's expense. He laughed, then got up.

"I'll leave you two alone." Simon said with a smile.

He shut the door behind him and sat on the couch in the common room. No member of the crew would be more deserving of the rest he was about to indulge in than Jayne did just a few days ago.

"I'm glad to have you back captain." River told Mal.

"Wouldn't say I'm outta the woods just yet darlin'." He replied.

"I would." River replied with a smile, which the captain returned.

River leaned down and gave the captain a hug, "Simon would tell you that you need to rest."

"Reckin' I could stand ta sleep a while longer."

"Sweet dreams captain. We'll all be here when you wake up."

Mal smiled before shutting his eyes. She always knew what he was going to ask.

River dimmed the lights in the infirmary and closed the door behind her. In the common room, Simon was already fast asleep on the couch. He had fallen asleep sitting up with his head cocked back and his mouth wide open. River shook her head disapprovingly, "Boob." she muttered to herself. She propped Simon's head up and covered him with the same blanket he had covered her with a few hours earlier, then made her way to the Galley.

She turned to the engine room and found Kaylee already asleep in her hammock. River tended to her blanket bringing it to her neck and proceeded to find the rest of the crew. As she entered the Galley, she found Zoe and Jayne drinking away their woes with Kaylee's engine wine. As her presence was virtually undetectable when they were sober, Jayne and Zoe didn't notice River had joined them till she was sitting at the table.

"River! You're awake, is everything ok, is the captain alright?" Zoe asked.

"He woke up again, he's doing better now." River replied with a smile.

Zoe, initially tense at hearing about Mal's condition, fell back into her chair with a relaxing breath.

"You should be gettin' some thanks from all'a us too." Jayne told River. "Weren't fer ya seein' them Reavers comin' we might never'a gotten outta there in time."

River blinked in shock at how kind he was, "You're welcome. I suppose I should thank you too Jayne." She replied.

Jayne smiled in preparation for praise, "Fer what?"

"For bringing the captain back as quickly as you could…" Jayne smiled, clearly pleased with himself, then River continued, "…that and of course for putting me down on the couch so delicately." River said as she reached to the back of her head feeling the bruise she received when Jayne dropped her.

"Oh well I uh…" Jayne was stuck stupid, clearly she knew he had dropped her and couldn't think of anything quick enough to apologize, "You're welcome." He said with a smile.

River rolled her eyes, stood up, walked around the table and smacked Jayne in the back of the head before continuing to Inara's shuttle. Zoe couldn't help but laugh to herself at River's near constant torment of Jayne. He _did _bring it on himself, most of the time anyway.

Upon entering Inara's shuttle, River found the companion on her knees before a shrine. As always, she walked to where Inara sat undetected and knelt beside her. She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"You're praying for the captain aren't you?" River asked quietly.

Inara not being alerted to her presence surprisingly _didn't_ flinch at River's voice breaking the silence of the shuttle, "Yes I am." She replied.

"It must be working, he's doing better." River replied.

Inara's eyes opened instantly and she turned to face River, "Is he awake?" She asked.

River's eyes remained closed and forward facing toward the shrine, "He was, he is sleeping again, but he is going to be fine now." She replied.

"River honey, you can't know that. I thought he was going to be fine too and look at what happened to him."

"I don't know; I feel. He is going to be alright Inara, I promise you."

River slowly opened her eyes and turned to face Inara whose eyes had glassed over with tears. River smiled ever so slightly and Inara reached over and gave her the tightest hug they'd ever shared.

"Thank you, I don't know what you did River, but thank you so much." She exclaimed.

River said nothing. She hugged Inara back before pulling away.

"I need to go to the bridge to see where we're headed. I'm glad I was able to relieve your anxiety." River said receiving a smile and a laugh from Inara.

"Me too." She replied as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

River quietly left Inara's shuttle, closed the door and made her way to the bridge. As she crossed through the Galley, Jayne threw his arm's up in defense. River's focus didn't detract to him in the slightest as she walked past him. Bearing witness to the comedy before her, Zoe once again laughed to herself.

River took her seat at the bridge and checked Serenity's computer for its destination. They would reach Persephone in just over 2 days time. Dissatisfied with the course set, she adjusted a few parameters and shortened the time to 33 hours. She smiled to herself at her minor accomplishment, and having slept through most of the past few days, was able to once again get lost in the black for hours.


	13. Chapter 13

Simon awoke on the couch the following morning. He quickly tried to get up as River had the day before and too suffered the wrath of sleeping on a couch. After stretching and cracking his body, he entered the infirmary to check on Mal. He had tossed a little bit throughout the night, but hadn't knocked out his IV or detached his heart monitor. His heart rate was normal and the rest of his vitals all seemed to coincide. Simon closed the door behind him and made his way to River's bunk.

He found the door to her bunk open and her bed neatly made. If she weren't here, she'd _probably_ be on the bridge.

As he made his way to the bridge he stopped and looked in the engine room. He found Kaylee as River did the night before asleep in her hammock. She had dropped her blanket probably tossing in the hammock and fixed it for her as River did the night before. He gave her a kiss on the forehead before continuing to look for his sister. He found Inara, Zoe and Jayne in the Galley all passed out. Noticing the empty bottle of wine and 3 empty glasses, he put the situation together with a smile.

Finally reaching the bridge, he found River with her eyes wide open as she stared out the windows on the deck with wide eyes and a smile.

As he stood in the doorway watching her, River greeted him, "Good morning Simon."

Simon smiled to himself and replied as he walked on the bridge and sat beside her, "Good morning to you too. How are you feeling?"

River's eyes closed and she smiled a most serene smile as she quietly replied, "It's quiet again Simon. I'm not sure how, but I think it's getting better."

"You can't hear anything?" He asked.

"I can hear everything, but it's all a low roar. I'm not even thinking about it, it's like a reflex."

Simon smiled and reached to give his sister a hug, "It's good to see you doing well again mei-mei."

"Its good to be well again." She replied.

Simon pulled away from River and began the less important questions.

"So, where are we headed?"

"Persephone, we will reach it in approximately 24 hours. Do you think Mal will be well enough to complete the deal with Badger?"

"I'm not sure. He really shouldn't be moving or going out on a job for a few days, but no one listens to the doctor on this ship."

"He's quite stubborn our captain." As River completed her sentence, Mal stumbled onto the bridge holding onto the walls for support.

Simon leapt to his feet to tend to the captain.

"You _really_ shouldn't be moving Mal."

Mal's voice was a bit quieter than normal and still horse, "No worries doc, I'm alright, 'sides a captain needs to be up and about his ship."

"Yes but I don't want you to rip your stitches."

"Nonsense doc, when's the last time that happened?" Mal replied.

"Do you really want to go there?"

Mal paused for a minute and replied, "Supposin' I don't. That's why I got you though. Fix me up when I'm all brokin'." he said with a smile as he put his hand on Simon's shoulder.

Simon smiled back, "Its good to see you're feeling better."

"It's good to be better." Mal replied.

Simon turned and headed back to the engine room to check on Kaylee and the captain proceeded to get a report from River, "Now…"

"We'll touchdown on Persephone in approximately 23 hours and 55 minutes." River replied to the captain's thought.

"I'm wounded River darlin', could ya at least let me ask my questions?" Mal replied with a sad look on his face.

Reading the humor in him, River replied, "Sorry captain."

She blanked her face of expression, fixed her dress, sat up straight, and asked with an unshakable grin, "Orders?"

River stared at Mal, whose humor had all but dissolved. He was staring right back at her and the smile on her face melted as she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I heard what ya said ta me, every last word." he replied.

River's head fell, almost in shame.

"Captain, I didn't mean…I wasn't trying to…I was so scared for you…"

He reached over to her and lifted her chin with his finger, "I wasn't lyin' 'bout what I told ya. S'long as I'm breathin' I'll always look after you like you were my own ya hear?"

River smiled as a tear fell from her eye and she replied, "Sheh Sheh."

Mal gave her a smile and than in a most captain-ly maneuver attempted to stand up quickly, but was only capable of standing up slowly and creaking due to his wounds. Once he was upright, he loudly asked, "So, when are we going to arrive on Persephone?"

River following in the charade stood up as well and replied loudly, "Approximately 23 hours sir."

Mal couldn't contain his smile or laughter any further, "Carry on little albatross."

He turned and left the bridge ever so slowly, carefully using the walls for support. River smiled to herself at the captains attempt to be stern with her; He wasn't very good at it.

As River had planned, Serenity touched down on Persephone roughly 23 hours later. Kaylee had made contact with the dock manager and began refueling. In the Galley, the crew had sat down for breakfast. There was scattered conversation throughout the crew and Mal waited for an appropriate break to sort out the planet side affairs.

"We need to discuss this deal with Badger. Seein' as how I'm still havin' trouble just walkin', I'm thinkin' it'd be best fer me ta sit this one out. I could really go for a day without gettin' shot or stabbed. He already gave me half'a the money so we only need ta get the other half. Jayne, Zoe, I'd like you two ta handle it. You have any problems gettin' it, I don't want no thrillin' heroics outta ya. You don't put up a fight; you get back here safe. I'd rather lose half the money than two'a my crew."

Jayne and Zoe both nodded, but River spoke up, "I could go with them, I could guarantee they get the money from Badger."

"I appreciate that darlin' but they're too many feds on this rock. Plus I don't wanna see you gettin' hurt neither."

"But I can…"

Mal cut her off for a change, "I know every bit'a what you can do, I just don't want ya doin' it is'all."

Simon breathed a sigh of relief at Mal's noted disapproval of River putting herself in a dangerous situation. River on the other hand seemed a bit depressed at being unable to help. Mal noticed and this time used his whole hand to lift her head.

"Hey, you do your part 'round here, don't beat yerself up." He said with a smile that River returned and the captain continued; "Soon as we're all done here I'd like you two ta get goin'. Sooner we can get back in the air, sooner we can all relax for a bit."

Shortly thereafter, the crew began to clean up their places and head their separate ways. Jayne and Zoe remained in the Galley with Mal working out the last details of the deal.

"How much're we supposed to be gettin' from Badger sir." Zoe asked.

"1000 platinum." Mal replied.

Jayne was a bit surprised by this amount, "Seems like a lot, sure he ain't tryin' to get somethin' over on us?"

"Well, that's the beauty part'a dealin' with criminals, they keep ya on yer toes. Like I said, either'a ya have any trouble, keep your guns in their holsters lest someone pulls one on ya first, dong ma?"

Jayne and Zoe nodded and headed out to complete the deal.

In the Galley, Mal and River were enjoying each other's company in discussion of what they might do regarding the situation of Dimitri Niska.

"So you sure he's by himself?" Mal asked.

"I can't be certain, I only saw what I could pick from that man's head. I know what I saw, but there could have been more to it." River replied.

"You said you might be able to get a better read on him when we get close to Osiris?"

"Its possible, I'm not certain. The butcher shop is in a small city on Osiris' outskirts. Once we land, I thought I might be able to get closer to the shop to pick him out."

"River honey, Osiris is under Alliance control. You know that, you can't set foot on that rock."

"It is an Allied planet, but the Alliance are cowards."

Mal smiled at River's blatant mocking of the Alliance. She may not have been his daughter, but at times like this, she certainly sounded like his flesh and blood.

"Alliance troops always stay centralized in the primary cities of the Allied planets. If I were to go into Capital City to get a cup of coffee I'd be picked up in seconds. The rim however, it will be safe."

Mal nodded, "Ya know, for two geniuses, two people who could make a fortune in honest money in any normal world, you and your brother make a couple of great criminals."

River laughed at Mal's compliment before straightening her face out, "There is one thing I'd like your permission to do captain."

"What might that be?" Mal asked.

"When the time comes, I'd like to take care of Niska." River stated.

Mal took a deep breath and sighed to himself, "I know ya'd like to, I'd _really_ like to. But, even if I were well enough I couldn't do it, and I'm not to fond'a the idea of you killin' anyone."

"I don't plan on killing him, just merely making sure that he knows better than to attempt to hurt you again."

"And how'd you plan on doin' that?" Mal asked.

River produced a devilishly charming smile for the captain that sent a slight chill down his spine and she replied, "He doesn't know my face. He wouldn't suspect I was a part of your crew. I could just be another customer to him until it counts."

The captain swallowed, then smiled before responding. But before he had gotten a chance to, her head dropped in shame, "River?"

"I frighten you."

Mal knew she read him and there was no way he could get out of what he had thought. A comforting lie would be as hollow as the vacuum of space; if he wanted to keep her trust, he knew absolute honesty was the only option.

"Sometimes." He replied.

River's face fell in sadness as Mal continued, "Ain't words been made up can describe the things you can do. No matter what anyone's done ta ya, or what the Alliance might'a put in you, you ain't nothin' short'a spectacular. You care less fer yourself than anyone I know and that ain't a bad quality ta have. Do ya scare me sometimes, yeah you do, but you're a good person bao-bei; purest soul I know. I trust you more than anyone on this boat."

River looked up at him with wet cheeks and smiled. She knew he was telling the truth.

Nearly an hour had passed since Jayne and Zoe had left. Mal, and Kaylee sat on some crates in the hold, waiting impatiently by the bay doors for them to return. They had been sitting long enough for Kaylee to be bored out of her mind and fidgeting endlessly.

"What's that old phrase about boilin' water cap'n?" She asked.

"A watched pot never boils?" Mal replied.

"Yeah, that's it. Maybe if we go back inside they'll show up quicker."

"They should be back any minute, just relax mei-mei."

"They're on their way back." River said from the back of the hold.

"You see'em?" Mal asked.

"Yes, they are alright, but…"

Mal's face displayed concern and he finished her thought, "…but what?"

"They have someone with them. It may be one of Badger's men. He's unarmed but he's wounded."

"You know what happened to him?" Mal asked.

"No, but…he's dying Mal."

Mal rushed over to the comm unit by the control panel for the doors, "Simon! Get to the infirmary mah-shong, someone's comin' on board and they're gonna need tendin' to."

Simon quickly climbed out of Kaylee and his bunk and made his way to the infirmary. Moments later, Jayne and Zoe approached Serenity with a man in their arms. His hands were covered in blood and his face had many bruises; it was Badger.


	14. Chapter 14

"Didn't I tell you both not ta be gettin' inta trouble!" The captain yelled from the hold with a very disgruntled look on his face.

Zoe addressed his inquiry, "Don't look at us, he was like this when we found him. Rest of his crew was slaughtered when we got there."

As Zoe and Jayne brought him on board Mal replied, "I got the doc prepin' the infirmary, you two bring him in. You help him he needs helpin' Zo."

"Yes sir." She replied.

Mal closed the doors to the hold and followed them to the infirmary. As he entered the common room, he saw River on the couch with her head in her palms. Mal saw she was blaming herself for whatever had happened and knelt in front of her to try and comfort her.

"I didn't see this captain, I'm sorry."

Mal reached his arms around her and gave her a hug, "Ain't yer fault girl. Jus' cause you didn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't gonna happen, ya hear?"

Her voice began to tremble as she continued, "No Mal, its not that; this was Niska. He knew. He knew we were dealing with Badger, he tried to get to you through him."

Simon's head popped out of the infirmary. His voice was quiet as he spoke, "Mal, I need you in here."

Mal wiped the tears from River's eyes, and stood to make his way to the infirmary. A moment later, River's tears had subsided and her face was surprisingly clear. As she made her way to the stairs, Mal turned to her as she reached the first step, "River?"

As she ascended the stairs, she replied, "I know what we need to do."

With no orders or destination from the captain, River lifted Serenity off of Persephone a moment later. In the infirmary, Zoe and Simon were cleaning Badger's wounds in a hurry as Simon and Mal discussed his condition.

Badger had some sort of valve in the right side of his chest, and was breathing with a ventilator.

"How's he doin'?" Mal asked, realizing a moment later just how ridiculous that must've sounded.

"Well, do you want the bad news or the really bad news?"

"Why don't we start with the really bad news."

"He's bleeding into his right lung and we're going to need to keep draining it to keep him from drowning in his own blood."

"So what's the bad news?"

"He's got multiple punctures in his _left_ lung but I can take care of them. He's also obviously unconscious and his pulse is weak."

"Can you fix him?"

"I'm going to do what I can but I've lost patients in better condition. I don't know how long it's been since this happened and I've got no record of the incident. It's going to take some time before I can give you more."

"Do what you can, quickly as you can. I gotta see where your sister is takin' us. You call me anythin' happens or you need another set'a hands."

Simon nodded and Mal left the infirmary to check on River. On the bridge, River was active at the controls.

"Where're you takin' us?"

"Back to the moon we dropped those 4 men on." She replied in a monotone voice.

"You think they're responsible for this?"

Her attention remained on her work as she replied, "I don't care. That man lied to me and I didn't see it when it could have mattered. They knew more; I just didn't get it all out of them. I was sympathetic to that man. I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Lets not be doin' anything rash River…"

River cut Mal off dozens of times per day, every day she'd been aboard Serenity; this was the first time she would do so in anger.

"…Rash?! This is my fault Mal! I am going back to that go-se moon to find them and I _will_ find them. They are going to talk to me and and then they are going to die."

Mal's face drained of color and expression. These next few moments would be critical, if he pushed her to far, she might explode right here and now, "River…bao-bei I'm just as upset as you, but I don't want you doin' nothin' you're gonna regret."

"Everyday I'm consumed by my regrets Mal. I failed by not doing what had to be done _before_ someone got hurt. The concentration it took to not kill that man when I could have, I felt like my head was going to explode. There is a man in our infirmary suffering because of me. If he dies, it is because of me. Shepherd Book, Hoban, how many people have to die because of me! I bring pain, and I bring death to everyone around me, to everyone I love. It stops now."

Mal was taken back at the mention of his friends who had passed. "River…" Mal searched for the right words, "You don't know it was them 4 hun-dans that did this."

"You're right, I don't know, but I need to try. If you want to stop me, I welcome you to try."

River's face was blank as it had been days ago when she shot that man. Mal swallowed and took a deep breath as she continued in a quieter more lucid tone.

"I love you like my father captain. I will listen to and obey any order you give me, as long as it doesn't involve me _not_ doing this."

He knew there would be no stopping her. He turned and headed to the door to the crew's quarters. The sight of Mal walking away in apparent disapproval broke through River's rage. She called to the captain with a quiet tone like that of a daughter who'd disappointed her father, "Mal?"

Mal replied with the same tone, "I'm goin' ta get armed. I won't stop ya, but I _am_ comin' with you." He gave her a wink and a slight smile before turning back to the door and heading to his bunk.

River turned and continued to modify the course. Nearly two hours later, she was still hard at work subtracting seconds from their course while Simon had stepped out of the infirmary to give Mal an update on Badger's condition.

"Well doc?" Mal asked.

"He's doing better. I was able to patch up his left lung, but I still need to periodically drain the other. All of his wounds are stitched and his pulse is improving."

"So he's doin' better?"

"He is doing better but he's got a way to go before I'd go so far as to call him unstable. I need the other lung to start fixing itself so I can remove the valve that's draining the blood. I can't take him off the ventilator till that happens."

"I see." Mal fidgeted a bit before continuing and Simon would've been blind to not notice.

"Captain?" Simon asked receiving a blink from Mal.

"I need ta talk to you 'bout somethin'." Mal replied.

Simon's stomach crept into his throat as he prepared for what Mal might have to tell him.

"River's takin' us back to the moon we dropped those 4 men on. She thinks they're responsible for this."

"How could that be, we left them with nothing."

"I don't know, River said she don't even know for sure it was them that did this. But somethin' tells me she ain't gonna stop until she does this. Even if she gets nothin' out of it, I been in her place before, she needs ta do this."

"Did you try to talk her out of it?"

"'Course I did and trust me doc, she wasn't in any mood to be dissuaded."

Simon's hands came over his face as he sighed, "Just promise me you won't let anything happen to her."

Mal sighed in relief, "You have my word."

Simon nodded, "I need to go check on him, how far out are we?"

"Probably not very. She was working like a crazy person trying to shave seconds off of our arrival."

"Be careful Mal."

Mal nodded and headed up to the bridge to check on River. When he reached the bridge, he would see the moon rapidly approaching.

"We'll be down in a few minutes Captain. I think I've found a small town not too far from where we left them. If they made it, that's probably where they'll be. Are you ready?"

"Goin' in like we are, plannin' on killin', there ain't no ready fer that."


	15. Chapter 15

Serenity touched down on the moon a few minutes later. Being not more than a half-mile out, Mal and River would walk into town.

River knocked on Jayne's bunk and it opened a moment later to a very groggy Jayne, "Moony?"

"I'm coming down." She replied as she made her way down the ladder.

Jayne tossed things all over, it was the first time anyone had set foot in his bunk since it was deemed his and it wasn't exactly the cleanest room on the ship.

"Seein' as how you made your way in here, mind tellin' me what ya want?"

"I need two guns."

"And I'd need therapy if I were ta give'em to ya."

"I did ask Jayne, we both know I could have just taken them." River replied.

"But that ain't your way, always got be polite and proper."

"I respect you, more than you respect me. I figure its only right to treat you with the respect I feel is due."

Jayne's face flinched; he didn't really know what to make of she had said. He shook it off and pulled the curtain from his supplies.

"Well, what'll it be?" he asked with a sigh.

River looked on all of the weapons he had splayed out on his wall and picked up two medium-sized pistols. They were highly polished and barely fit her hands.

"Mona and Lisa, you have good taste girl, they're two'a my favorite ladies."

"But they aren't ladies, they're guns" River replied.

"Well, ya see, there were these two girls in Canton a while back, and I…"

River flipped Mona in her hand and lined herself up to crack Jayne in the temple, "Please…do not finish that sentence."

"Alright."

"Bullets?" River asked, receiving several matching clips for both guns.

"You know how ta…" As Jayne was about to ask if she knew how to operate the pistols, she snapped the butts of the guns together loading them, then cocked and de-safetied both at the same time.

For the first time since she'd been aboard Serenity, Jayne gave her a smile.

"Wow…" he exclaimed with a stupefied look on his face.

"I gotta tell ya, that was one'a the sexiest things I ever seen a woman do River."

River smiled sweetly at Jayne, "Do you know that was the first time you called me by my name?"

Jayne blushed a bit. As she headed up the ladder, she turned back to him, "We might just be friends one day Jayne Cobb."

Upon entering the Galley, Mal took notice of the pistols in River's hands, "He let you have those?"

"He let me borrow these. I need you to hold them; no pockets in these rags." She replied with a smile.

Mal slipped the pistols into his belt behind him and threw his coat on. He extended his hand to River almost as though he was asking her to dance, "Shall we?"

River nodded and they headed down the stairs to the common room. Simon had been waiting for them on the couch and promptly stood when they entered the room. He walked to River and gave his sister a tight hug, "Please be careful mei-mei."

"We'll be fine Simon, I promise." She said with a smile before walking into the hold.

Simon stared at Mal with daggers in his eyes and Mal addressed his concerns, "Ya have my word doc, I'll do everything in my power to bring her back to you without any holes."

Simon nodded before retreating to the infirmary while Mal and River began their walk into town.

"So what are you plannin' on doin'?" Mal asked.

"We'll look for places of congregation, a bar or brothel and look around." She replied.

"So you ain't plannin' on shootin' till someone gives you a reason to right?"

"Yes. I think subtlety would be the safest course of action."

A few hundred feet later, they had reached the town. It was run down with not more than 7 buildings; all of them tattered and decrepit. The town was deserted and a small saloon stood at its center. The windows wore broken shutters, which Mal and River peaked through. There were approximately 10-15 people in the bar. As River read through them, she came to find her friend from days ago, his shoulder still covered in the bandage her brother had wrapped it in.

"There he is." River stated.

"So what do you want ta do?" Mal asked.

"I'm going to go talk to him." River said as she reached around Mal's back and grabbed Mona and Lisa.

"Thought you weren't plannin' on shootin' anyone?"

"I'm not, but I shouldn't go in unarmed either."

Mal swallowed and replied, "You be careful darlin' ya hear?"

River nodded, walked to the doors and gently pushed them open. There was a man drinking from a glass on the left side of the door as she walked in. She gracefully lifted his glass with Lisa's barrel smashing the glass against his face.

Mal saw the transgression and muttered to himself, "Real subtle River…"

The shattering of the glass brought the entire bar to attention and River raised both guns as she moved away from the door. She turned 360 degrees as she walked, Mona in her right hand, Lisa in her left. There were 12 men staring her down, and eliminating all 12 wouldn't be a problem given their distance from her. As she was about to speak, she felt an arm around her waist and the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of her head. It was the man she'd shot on Serenity.

The doors to the bar opened a moment later and another of the 4 men she'd spared walked in with a gun to Mal's head.

River re-directed Lisa towards Mal's aggressor and maintained Mona's position on the rest of the room. The man holding her leaned his head on her shoulder and with a smile, whispered in her ear, "I thought I'd be dead before I hit the ground?"

River's heartbeat hadn't escalated in the least as she replied, "You will be."

She snapped her left heel up striking the man in the crotch, instantly causing him to lower his hand and pistol as he reeled from the blow. River gracefully flipped her body forward, cracking the man in the jaw with her right foot, breaking his neck instantly. She elegantly landed in a kneeling position and again raised her guns. The man's dead body hit the ground a half-second later.

Thanks to River's display, the captain had been able to get the best of the man who was holding a gun on him. He elbowed him in the face, turned and promptly struck him in the face again with the other elbow insuring he would stay down. Of course River and Mal's actions brought the rest of the bar to its feet and all 12 men were headed towards them from all directions.

River stood and alternated her gaze from one barrel to the other. Her movements were mechanical as she fired shot after shot. After all of her assailants had been dropped, she turned her attention and both guns to Mal firing round upon round at the men who had cornered him.

When the shots stopped neither River nor Mal had received more than a scratch and 12 men lay on the floor.

Mal's face was white at the sight of the bar. It looked like the maidenhead months ago when River was first triggered except these men were dead. Her eyes met Mal's who gave her somewhat of a relieved smile. River killing wasn't something he wanted but if she hadn't acted, they would have both been beaten or worse, then killed. Behind the bar, a man quietly stood holding a shotgun; it was one of the men they had let off.

Still facing Mal, River's head cocked to the side as she raised Mona behind her and squeezed the trigger. The round slipped cleanly into the barrel of the shotgun igniting the shell inside. The barrel burst in the man's hands and he dropped the weapon to the ground in shock.

"Don't move." She instructed as she adjusted the aim of the gun to the man's head with her eyes still focused on Mal.

She threw Lisa to Mal, turned without altering the gun's aim and headed towards the man. She reached across the bar, grabbed his collar and brought his head to Mona's barrel.

She spoke quietly and innocently to him, "I do not want to kill you, but I am in this position because I did not kill your friend in the first place." She looked to the man she had interrogated on Serenity who now laid on the floor with his neck in an impossible bend, then continued, "For every lie you tell me, I'm going to put a hole in you and believe me when I tell you I will know. I would advise you be as honest as possible."

The man's head shook almost in a spasm and River began to ask her questions.

"What can you tell me about Dimitri Niska?" She asked.

River slowly released her hold on his shirt, Mona still focused on his forehead and she began reading him. She again saw Dimitri's butcher shop but now saw him to be much more than the angry owner of a Butcher shop. Much of the city in which he was based was under his control.

"Interesting, what else can you tell me about him?"

"I didn't tell you anything!" He replied in fear.

River's face was void of expression as she read him further. She addressed him again, this time ensuring he would talk to her, "It must make you crazy what he did to you. That he made your father's death look accidental. That he made you watch as he killed both him and his wife. Now he's forced you to work for him. He makes you do these things to others and you can't refuse or he will kill you too. I know such a thing would have undoubtedly made me even crazier than I already am."

The man's eyes had glassed over. He raised his hand and slapped River across the face, which prompted Mal to aim Lisa at him and join them at the bar.

Shrugging off the slap, River turned and continued. "I'm sorry for what has happened to you, but if you do not tell me where he is or what to expect, he will do this to someone else. This can stop and no one else will be hurt by him ever again."

The man had begun crying while she spoke and he finally answered her question, "He owns the city lady. Nothing happens without him saying so. Everyone is connected to him and he is connected to everything. You go in there looking for a fight, you're not going to come out."

River smiled slightly and replied, her gun still focused on him; "Do you know what else is on Osiris?"

The man slowly shook his head as he wept and River continued, "A school for gifted children. They teach they're students things like what organs can be removed from the human body that leave it alive long enough to suffer. They teach them how to extract information from people by any means necessary. The especially gifted children get combat training. Training that teaches them how to disassemble the human body with nothing more than their bare hands." River completed her thought in the man's mind, _"I was their greatest student."_

His eyes opened wide at what he had heard.

"If you tell me where to find him, I will see to it that he dies, but if you don't talk to me, all of the torment and pain he has brought you will be in vain."

The man hesitated before visibly calming down and letting out a relaxed sigh, "What do you already know?" he asked in a quiet tone.


	16. Chapter 16

River and Mal took a seat at the bar and River answered his question, "We know the butcher shop is a front for his "business" and that is all."

"The butcher shop is on the first floor of his building. Its 10 floors but don't let the outside fool you; it's a fortress inside."

The man continued to lay out the details of Niska's operation; no stones left unturned. When he finished, Mal and River stood up from the bar, turned and walked to the door.

"Thats it?" The man asked from behind the bar.

River stopped but did not turn, "Do I need to kill you?" she asked.

He didn't reply and River's hand clenched Mona tightly as she continued to stare straight ahead. Loosening her grip on the pistol, she proceeded to walk to the doors, Mal following her closely. As they left the town, River fell to her knees, vomited and began to hyperventilate. Mal reached to hold her but she pushed him away, "I'll be fine, just give me a second."

River slowed her breathing and stood a moment later. Her eyes were closed and tears draped her cheeks. He put his hands on her shoulders and asked, "You OK?"

"We need to get away from here. Those men in there, the men I killed, they're all in me; I can't shut them up." She replied in an apparent state of exhaustion.

Mal wiped the tears from her eyes, slipped Mona and Lisa back into his belt and they ran to Serenity. The further they ran the more the voices in River's head were drowned out.

On Serenity, Simon waited impatiently in the infirmary for Mal and River to return. They had been gone for nearly 2 hours and his nerves were wearing thin.

A slight creek came from the stairs in the common room and Simon looked to investigate; it was River and Mal returning. He ran from the infirmary and gave his sister a tight hug that she returned. The embrace lasted a moment before Simon pushed her away to examine her.

Seeing as how she knew what he was doing, she spun in place and answered Simon's unspoken question with a smile, "No new holes Simon."

Simon smiled and looked up at Mal who was also unharmed, "No bullet holes, burns, cuts or scrapes? I don't know whether to jump for joy or pass out from shock."

Mal gave Simon a sarcastic grin before addressing his pilot, "River darlin', could you…" Alas, she was already up the stairs.

"So everything went according to plan?" Simon asked.

Mal sat on the couch and flinched as Mona and Lisa dug into his back. He removed the guns from his belt and placed them on the table. His elbows rested on his knees and his head rested in his palms.

"Mal…"

Mal dropped his hands and replied, "You sure you wanna hear this doc?" Mal asked.

Simon nodded with a very concerned look on his face.

"She killed 12 men in less than a half-a minute. 12 shots, 12 bodies."

Simon was silent as Mal continued, "Hadn't she done it neither'a us would be here now. That guy she shot here, he had a gun to her head. What she did to him…it was like watching a flower bloom."

"Did anyone survive?"

"One of'em. She told him what she learned at that place on Osiris, I might add I wet myself when she did. He told us everything. What to expect, how to get in; everythin' he knew."

"Was it on the level?"

"I think so, River sure as hell pushed the right buttons."

"What did she say to him?"

"Don't matter, you just do what I'm gonna do."

"Which is?"

"Pray that nothin' ever upsets that girl like this ever again."

Serenity lifted off the moon a moment later. Simon and Mal had entered the infirmary so the doctor could update Mal on Badger's condition.

"I'm draining progressively less blood per hour. Hopefully by the end of the day I'll be able to remove the valve."

"That's good right?" Mal asked.

"He's stabilizing. He's still unconscious, but he _is_ doing better."

"Good, he's a real hun-dan but I don't care ta see'em dead." Mal replied.

"I don't want to speak too soon, but his prognosis is getting better, hopefully it stays that way."

"Keep up the good work, I gotta go see the rest'a my crew. It's been a while since I actually talked ta everyone."

As Mal left the infirmary, Simon asked him a final question, "Was it that bad Mal? What she said they did to her?"

"If she were my flesh and blood we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'd probably been killed tryin' ta destroy that place. I've been kinder ta people I killed in cold blood than those people were ta River. Things she said they taught her and made her do; I pray we don't see any more of it than we already have."

Simon swallowed and nodded. Mal proceeded up the stairs to the Galley to an amazing sight. River and Jayne were sitting at the table having a discussion…and they were both smiling.

"What the hell world have I crossed into…"

"I was telling Jayne he needs to re-sight Lisa. Her aim is off by several millimeters." River replied.

"River you didn't miss once."

"But he probably will, I was telling him for his own safety."

Jayne interjected in his own defense, "Hey! I don't miss much."

"You miss more than me and I'm a girl."

"Everyone misses more than you cause you ain't human!" Jayne replied

River smiled and playfully punched Jayne's arm. She looked up and saw a dumbfounded expression on Mal's face and laughed to herself before replying, "No captain, you don't have to worry about that."

"What's he thinkin'?" Jayne prodded.

"River…" Mal said with a distinct don't-do-it tone in his voice.

"I can't tell you, it's rude to voice the thoughts of others without their permission." River replied.

"C'mon Mal what're ya thinkin'." Jayne further pushed with a smile.

As Mal and Jayne got into their discussion, River quietly slid herself off the bench and ran to the bridge to avoid getting further caught up in the argument.

"There you are sir." Zoe said as she entered the Galley from the crew's quarters.

Mal's attention quickly turned to Zoe leaving Jayne hanging.

"Yeah, we've been back for a while now." Mal replied to his first mate.

"Everything go alright planet side?"

"We got us a destination and a lot of information, but it's going to be tough."

"Worse than daddy's place?"

"Could be, I understand there's gonna be a whole lot'a security. I'm not sure how we're gonna go about this yet."


	17. Chapter 17

Several hours had passed since Mal and River had returned. Serenity was floating about half-way between Persephone and Osiris and would continue to do so until they had formed a solid plan to infiltrate and eliminate Niska.

The crew was in the Galley having just finished dinner. They cleared their places and Mal began, "So what do we have?"

Kaylee stood and unrolled a series of floor plans and schematics onto the table.

"Way I see it there's two ways to go about getting into Niska's office. One is theoretically easier than just about anything we've ever done, the other is the exact opposite."

"Seein' as how it'll probably go the way'a impossible, lets hear the hard way first."

"Well judging by the plans we got off the cortex, Niska's place is pretty much a fortress like the guy in town said. There are security cameras everywhere, motion detectors, laser nets, the works. He's even got the place wired from two different sources so you'd have to take out two independent power stations to disable the building completely."

Kaylee continued to lay out the details of Niska's building for the following half-hour. When she had finished, Mal sighed and asked the only question he had.

"You said there was an easier way to go about this?"

"There is. Its actually kinda simple, don't need anything that guy gave ya even." Kaylee hesitated, "But…"

"But what Kaylee girl?"

"There's only one person that can do it." Kaylee turned and looked at River whose eyes lit up at the prospect.

Simon immediately stood up in objection, "No way, I don't want her involved with any part of this!"

"Hey doc, why don't we hear'er out first?" Mal calmly replied.

"Because the answer is still going to be no!"

Ignoring Simon's rant, Mal took a deep breath, "How's this work Kaylee?"

"Instead of installing motion detectors in the ventilation system, he just had the ducting made out of smaller plumbing. He was probably thinkin' no one who'd want to kill him could fit in plumbing that small. Judging by the layout of the ductwork on these plans, it's pretty much a straight shot up to the 10th floor."

The smile on River's face faded, "I'd have to climb 10 floors?"

Kaylee continued, "And you'd have ta be dead quiet. It's the only direct path. But, once you're up there, there's only one way in or out, 'sides the way you'd be going in of course. Way I see it, all we gotta do is distract him to get him outta that room and you can get in without anyone seein' ya."

"No cameras in that room?"

"Ain't necessary with just one door in." Kaylee replied.

The Galley was silent as Kaylee's words were contemplated. Mal would be the one to break the silence, "River, you think you can do this bao-bei?"

"Mal!" Simon shouted, "This isn't happening. We know she can do it, the point is she's not!"

"Doctor, I respect you looking out fer your sister but we ain't got a whole lot'a options here. Job like this is dangerous but damn near easy by comparison than half'a the things she's done."

River finally spoke for herself, "Simon, I know you don't want me to, but I _can_ do this. If everyone goes in, how many of us might not come out? It can be just me or it could be all of us."

"River, why does it have to be any of us?" Simon asked.

River's speech was broken, "Because this man won't stop Simon! He'll keep trying to get to Mal, and he'll kill anyone in between."

Simon shook his head in disapproval and replied in disgust, albeit somewhat calmly, "You know what Mal, she's your crew, do whatever you like with her."

Simon stormed out of the Galley leaving the room silent. Kaylee motioned to Mal that she was going to go after him to which Mal nodded. He looked at River in shame for what she knew he had to ask of her. She smiled ever so slightly, "I'm going to set the course."

Inara finally spoke up, "River, you don't need to do this, we can find another way."

As she walked towards the bridge, River replied quietly, "There is no other way."

Jayne stood up and stomped off to his bunk.

"What's eatin' him?" Zoe asked.

"I think he and River just started gettin' along. Doesn't take much for Jayne to latch onta someone, specially someone's easy to get latched onto like River."

"You don't think they're…" Mal cut Zoe off, "Don't even say it, I swear I'll kill him myself just fer you sayin' it!"

Zoe smiled and made her way to her bunk leaving Mal and Inara. They stared at each other for a moment before Inara broke the silence; "Do you care for her Mal?"

A rare look of seriousness came over Mal's face and he replied, "I do."

"Then don't let her do this. I know how strong you think she is but she is an 18-year-old girl Mal. She's been through enough, she doesn't need to add dying in a wall to her resume."

"You really think that's gonna happen 'Nara?"

"Of course not but it doesn't change how upset we all get at seeing her in these situations. She's a frightened teenage girl who's had her brain cut up and studied."

"You're right, she's been through a lot and I hate askin' this'a her, but she's only getting stronger, even Simon said he doesn't know what she could be capable of."

"Is that it? You want to push her to see how far she can go, maybe drive her completely into madness!?!"

Mal became enraged at Inara's accusation of using River like a puppet, "Of course that ain't what I want fer her! Every time she volunteers fer anything everyone sees me tryin' ta get'er ta stay put! These things she's doin', she's not doin'em ta prove anythin' ta anyone. She's doin'em because its helpin'er. Focusin' at night, goin' on job after job; she's doin' it because she knows how, because it gives a purpose ta what was done to'er."

Inara's mouth fell open as she absorbed Mal's words in shock, "Mal…"

Having gotten that outburst out of his system, Mal calmed down, "I'm horrified 'Nara, I'm scared to death at her doing this. But now that she's knows she _can_ do it, one'a us tells'er no, it ain't gonna help anyone."

Inara stood from the table still in a state of shock and said nothing; she turned and left the Galley. Mal fidgeted in his seat and his eyes wandered about the room. He was terrified for River. He wanted her to be safe and he didn't want her to do this, but he knew there was no other way.

In the common room, Kaylee was making a desperate attempt at calming down Simon; it wasn't going well.

"How could you do this! You had to know how I'd react!" Simon screamed at Kaylee.

"I'm sorry Simon but they're right. This guy wants the captain dead and the last group'a guys came here lookin' to kill him almost killed me instead. Next time it could be River, could be you, could be any'a us; could be me again and I really don't like gettin' shot. I know how bad you don't want her to do this but you know she can."

Simon was silent as Kaylee's words echoed in his head.

"Would you like me to go instead, I can fit in the vents too ya know."

"Of course I don't…"

"Well we're the only two people that can do it and River's a bit more qualified for the job."

"There was another plan."

"Yeah a plan that puts everyone one of us in danger. You should be proud 'a River for wantin' to do this for everyone."

"I _am_ proud of her, that doesn't mean I want Mal constantly putting her life at risk."

The conversation was just calming down at that point. Kaywinnit Frye didn't go over the edge easily, but this argument had gone far enough, "Do you ever stop and think about what she wants!"

Simon was frozen at her outburst as she continued, "Mal's never forced any'a this on River! Never told her to work or get off! She's never said no to anything he's asked of her. When Wash died River _volunteered_ to pilot for the captain. She likes helpin' Simon. She's lost in this world and if she can find satisfaction in what she does here, you shouldn't try to take it away from'er."

Simon was completely stuck. He knew everything she had said was true, he just had a hard time hearing it; accepting it would be near impossible. Kaylee quickly realized the extent of her outburst as Simon's eye's glassed over.

"Simon…" She tried to console him but he cut her off very quietly, "No…you're right. Mal's never pushed her. He's always gives her an out…" Simon sighed, "…she just never takes it."

There was a moment of silence in the room, as they both feared to speak to the other.

Kaylee finally spoke, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Simon smiled, "Me too."

"Are we ok?"

"Always." Simon replied.

Simon gave Kaylee a kiss before retreating to the infirmary to check on Badger.


	18. Chapter 18

Mal entered the bridge and sat beside River awaiting his report. He was nearly in shock when she didn't deliver it to him before he spoke as she so often did. It was a bizarre and rare occurrence as he waited and actually asked, "Report?"

"You're right Mal. I never thought about it till I heard you say it, but you're right." River whispered.

"Right about what darlin'?"

Her speech was fragmented as though she was fighting off tears, "Going on jobs, doing the things I do, it helps. Makes it hurt less."

"I'm glad to hear that." Mal said with a smile.

"What if one day I can't stop it?" River's voice grew progressively louder and more upset, "What if one day I wake up and all that's left is what they made?" Her voice began to crack and tears began to pour down her cheeks, "What if I woke up tomorrow and killed every one of you?"

Mal's fear consumed him completely. He could think of nothing to say that would comfort her, nothing that would make her feel better. It was a miracle the terror in his mind wasn't written on her face. He could think of nothing else but to stand up, grab her in a tight hug and hold her. They fell to the floor of the bridge as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, her body convulsing violently in his arms.

"I don't want to hurt you Mal."

"You ain't gonna hurt me bao-bei, just breath, calm down."

She continued to sob frantically and Mal continued to hold her tight hoping it would help her get through this. Her body eventually calmed, but her tears continued.

Simon came onto the bridge a few moments later and found the two of them on the floor holding each other. He found some semblance of comfort at the sight. Everything Mal said about River, how he felt for her, how he didn't want to see her hurting; it all became real at the sight of him holding her as she wept.

"Mal?" Simon quietly spoke, "He's awake Mal."

Mal nodded and loosened his hold on River ever so slightly, "You gonna be alright bao-bei?"

River wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded.

Mal stood and helped her off the floor of the bridge and back into her seat, "I'll be back in a few minutes darlin', just take yer time ya hear?"

River nodded and directed her attention back to the controls as Simon and Mal made their way back through the Galley.

"He sayin' anythin' yet?" Mal asked.

"No, I had to give him a muscle relaxer to keep him from falling off the table."

"How's he doin' other wise?"

"The lung is healing itself as I'd hoped…" Mal stopped them in the Galley, "You're talkin' ta me like nothin' happened."

"Yes I am."

"So what happened?"

Simon sighed, "River's not my daughter, she's not your daughter; she's our pilot and she's your crew. She's almost 19 years old, and she's clearer now than she's been in months. She can speak and act for herself. You don't have to ask me anymore Mal, just keep her safe when she comes with you."

Mal bowed his head a bit and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

They continued to the infirmary, Mal feeling as though the weight of the world had been lifted off him. When they reached the infirmary, Badger had fallen asleep again, but Mal could see the results of Simon's work. The valve was removed, his heartbeat was nearly normal and he was breathing on his own. It was almost miraculous what Simon had done for him.

"I'm not much of a doctor but I'd assume the less tubes he got in'em the better off he is right doc?"

"He's stable. Anything can happen but he's doing much better. It'll be a while before he gets his strength back and he'll probably be in and out for a couple of days. I'd say he should be wide awake by the end of the week."

"Good, after we get done on Osiris we'll head back ta Persephone, drop him back home."

Simon nodded as Mal turned and walked to the door to the common room.

"Mal?"

"I told River I'd only be gone a few minutes, she's hurtin' right now, someone oughta be with'er."

Simon smiled slightly before replying; "You really do care for her don't you?"

"I'm an honest man Simon."

Simon gave Mal quite the look at what he had said prompting a correction from the captain, "Well, least I think I'm a decent man and I ain't got no reason ta lie to ya. I ain't'er father, but somethin' were ta happen to that girl, I'm not sure what I'd do."

Simon's face was deadpan and his voice was quiet as he replied, "I respect you captain, and with all due respect, I'm not sure I know what I'd do either."

The doctor's words were clear in what they meant and they sent a sharp chill through Mal. For such a prim and proper youth, Simon could be a scary son-of-a-bitch when he needed to.

When Mal arrived on the bridge he would find River in her seat, still sniffling, but much more collected. This time, he didn't get to ask his question, always a good sign.

"We're approximately 12 hours out from Osiris."

Mal smiled knowing she was feeling better and replied, "Good, that'll give us some time to rest and discuss the details in the morning."

There was a pause before Mal continued, "Are you OK?"

River turned and replied, "I haven't been able to spend a lot of time at night because of everything that's been going on. Once I get back to my nightly routine, I'll hopefully continue to improve."

"You take your time ya hear? No one's expectin' ya ta be a new person in the morning."

"I know." River tapped a few switches at the controls dimming the lights on the bridge for the night. She stood from her seat and walked over to Mal, her arms slightly raised. She slipped Mal into her arms and as she brought them together he rested his head on hers. He raised his hands around her holding her tight to him.

A moment later, River slowly pulled away from Mal and smiled, "I think I'm going to take a vacation when this is over."

Mal smiled as he responded, "I think you've earned it."

River walked to the door and turned back to Mal who had never stopped watching her, "Good night Mal."

"Good night there little albatross." He replied.

River returned to her bunk closing the door behind her. She slipped into her pajamas, and for the first time in days, sat upright in her bed. She folded her legs, placed her hands on her knees and closed her eyes.

_Concentrate._

Images from the gunfight blazed through her mind causing her body to jolt. She saw the men she killed; every one of them a criminal or bastard to someone. She cried out in pain as she struggled to get a grip on her emotions.

_Breathe._

She buried the gunfight in the back of her mind and began to breathe heavily in preparation; the Academy would be following suit. She again saw herself being injected, cut on and studied. She flinched in pain and cried out. She again forced it back and everything slowly began to clear.

_Relax._

She slowed her breathing, her body calmed and her mind was finally clear, left with nothing more than space. She slowly leaned back into her bed and pulled the blankets to her chin. Her breathing slowed even further she had fallen asleep.

She woke the following morning to the sound of Simon knocking on the door of her bunk.

"River? Are you alright in there?" He waited and got no response. He knocked again and again called to her, "River it's almost 1200 hours."

As he relayed the time of day, her eyes cracked open and she was instantly wide-awake. She'd been asleep for nearly 12 hours and she was to be climbing a building within the hour. She sprang from her bed, quickly changed and opened the door.

Simon was frozen at the sight of his sister, "River, what are you wearing?"


	19. Chapter 19

River's curly hair was tied back in a tight ponytail and she was dressed in a form fitting, but stretchy pair of black pants and a black tank top. Simon had never seen her in such attire and was completely prepared to react like a father whose daughter was going on a first date in a very-unapproved outfit. Alas, he squashed the thought before it could get to the forefront of his thoughts.

"I need to be unrestricted Simon. If I were to dress as I normally do my clothes could bind and hinder my progress."

"Yeah but…"

River cut him off with a smile and a giggle, "But nothing Simon, I'm fine, don't worry."

She walked up to the Galley to find Mal and Kaylee going over some last minute details of the plan. When she entered the room, Mal and Kaylee's jaw's both dropped. They too had never seen River in such an outfit and it took them a second to realize just who it was they were looking at.

"Uh…River…" Mal began only to be cut-off as usual, "I need to have free-range of motion captain. My hair, my clothes, they can bind in a tight space, I had to dress appropriately. Why is everyone looking at me like this?"

"We just ain't used to seein' ya all…you know…" Kaylee replied.

"No, I don't?"

"You look…" Kaylee attempted to describe her thoughts about River's outfit when Jayne walked in, "Wuh de ma!"

Without ever taking his eyes off River, Mal replied, "Jayne, you wanna be thinkin' real hard 'bout what comes out your mouth right now."

River read Jayne for half-a-heartbeat and began laughing to herself. This time it would be Jayne telling her to not voice the thoughts of another, "Remember what you said, it'd be rude, right?"

The obviousness of what had happened brought the captain to reach for his pistol, prompting a reply from River to defend her new friend, "Don't worry, he's not thinking anything captain." She said with a smile.

"Ya know, fer the first time ever, I'm having a hard time with that." Mal replied.

River gave Jayne a wink and proceeded down the stairs into the Galley. As she descended the stairs, Jayne's mouth dropped, "Aiya Tyen-ah…I'll be in my bunk."

Jayne turned to head back down the hall to crew's quarters but stopped and turned back. He dropped Mona on the table in the Galley. He had fitted her with a small searchlight and silencer.

"Good luck today River." He said with a smile before _running_ back to his bunk. The sound of her name crossing his lips was comforting to her. Perhaps he finally was beginning to respect her. She smiled as she yelled her back, "Thanks Jayne!"

River approached the table with all manner of calm about her. She picked up Mona facing her away from Mal and Kaylee and checked the chamber; she was loaded and ready to fire save for the safety being on. Seeing as how she had a proper pair of pants on, she slipped Mona behind her as Mal had the day before and covered herself with a light coat.

"You OK River?" Mal asked.

"Much better today captain. I slept very well." River replied with a smile.

"You ready ta go over some details?"

"Yes."

River sat at the table and studied the maps as Mal and Kaylee went over the details of her task. As they spoke, she memorized the layouts of each floor, and the ductwork.

When they had finished going over the details, River stood and made her way to the bridge to prepare for landing on Osiris. As she began to set the ship down, she began to feel the Academy. The tortured screams of its students were audible to her from the other side of the planet. She closed her eyes tight and pushed them to the back of her mind.

Her eyes opened a moment later as she set the ship down on the docks. She trimmed power as she always did when the ship was docked and made her way back to the Galley.

"This is it." River said to an anxious Mal and Kaylee.

Kaylee stood and handed River a small earpiece, "We'll be able to communicate with this. Anythin' goes wrong, we'll go in guns blazin'."

River smiled, "I know I shouldn't, but I have a good feeling about this. I haven't felt so relaxed in almost a week."

Mal smiled before stepping to River and giving her a tight hug.

"You be careful bao-bei ya hear? Someone finds you, no fancy footwork. Take'em down and keep'em quiet."

"I know, don't worry Mal. I'll be fine." She replied with a smile.

As she stepped away from Mal she gave Kaylee a hug, "Take care of Simon while I'm gone. He can be so needy."

Kaylee chuckled at River's words before letting go. As she made her way to the stairs to the common room, she turned and faced Mal and Kaylee again. She smiled and headed down the stairs.

Simon was waiting for her in the common room. He sat on the couch with his arms folded and a distraught look on his face, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"The plan is simple, all things considered."

"Just please be careful mei-mei. I want you back as quick as possible for my sake but take your time and make sure you go unnoticed."

"I will." She replied before helping Simon off the couch and pulling him to her in a hug, "Don't worry brother, I'll be back soon."

Simon's eyes glassed over as he pulled away from her giving her a smile as she walked to the stairs to the hold. River walked through the hold to a waiting Zoe at the controls for the bay doors.

"You ready for this River?"

"Mal told me there is no such thing as ready when you're planning to kill someone."

Zoe smiled, "Sounds like him, and he's right. You be careful."

Zoe reached out her hand and River accepted it in a solid shake. She stepped onto the planet's surface and looked up at Zoe as Serenity's doors closed.

"_Can ya hear me River?"_ Kaylee asked through River's earpiece.

"I can." River replied.

"_Do you see it?"_

River turned 360 degrees and observed her surroundings. As she took in the buildings of the city, she overlaid the maps of the city she had seen on Serenity in her head.

"I do." River replied as she made her way through the city to her target location; a Laundromat.

She entered the building as any normal person would have, and made her way to the restroom. In the restroom, she locked the door, removed the vent from the wall and her co at from her body. She took Mona in her right hand and entered the narrow ducting, slowly progressing to the sub-levels of the building.

"_Where are ya?"_ Kaylee asked.

"In the ducting at the laundry, it smells great in here." River whispered.

Aboard Serenity, Mal and Kaylee shared a laugh as Jayne entered the Galley dressed like a vagrant. He took two big swigs of Kaylee's engine wine and asked, "Well how do I look?"

"Good and homeless." Mal replied with a smile.

Jayne made his way to the cargo hold as he replied, "Well that's the idea ain't it?"

Back in the ducting, River had come to the basement of the building and proceeded to the service entrance to the next building over; Niska's building.


	20. Chapter 20

"I'm at the service door."

"_What do ya see River?" _Kaylee asked.

Mona switched hands as River ran her right hand down the door, stopping at a locking mechanism.

"The door has a 5 digit combination lock, 120 possible combinations if repetition is not allowed and all 5 digits are required. 3125 combinations if repetition is allowed. If less than 5 digits are acceptable…"

While Mal and Kaylee found River's mathematical prowess astonishing, now was not the time for it, _"Can you crack it?"_ Mal interrupted.

As his words came through the earpiece, River had already begun trying combinations.

"Already working on it. 5 digits, no repetition, 17 down, 103 to go."

Several tense minutes passed before Kaylee got back to her, _"How ya doin' River?"_

River's hands moved surrealistically quick over the keypad, "87 down, 33 to go."

Another 2 minutes passed. The silence on the bridge was deafening as Mal, Kaylee, Simon, Zoe, and Inara, waited to hear from River again. Finally, she rang back, "I'm in."

There was a collective sigh of relief among the crew as her words came over the comm.

"_Do you see the vent?"_ Kaylee asked.

River took Mona back into her right hand, switched on the barrel-mounted searchlight and shined it up towards the ceiling.

"I see it." River replied.

"_I guess this is it, from here on tap the ear piece twice for yes, once for no."_

"Understood."

River swallowed at the task before her and made her way into the vent. It wasn't as tight as she'd assumed it would be, but ascension was still slow. The bridge had again fallen silent in the moments of no communication. Knowing everyone would be worried, she occasionally gave her earpiece a double-tap, which brought sighs of relief over the crew.

In between the 7th and 8th floor, her body began to tire. She fixed herself in a position to rest and remained still. Her bare skin and shoes provided enough friction to keep her in place without exerting any energy.

Several minutes later, she had caught her breath and the ascent continued. Again she tapped her earpiece to give notice to the crew that she was still all right.

She reached the 9th floor and finally broke her silence to Kaylee. She was nearly inaudible, but just loud enough for Kaylee to hear, "I'm ready, send Jayne in."

Outside the butcher shop, Jayne waited in the shadows.

"_Ya hear me Jayne?"_ Kaylee asked through his earpiece.

"Yeah I gotcha, is it time?" Jayne replied quietly.

"_Make us proud."_

Jayne stumbled off the street and into the butcher shop. His body slapped onto the counter and he started to speak…loudly, "What's a guy gotta do ta get some service in here!"

Jayne's screaming brought an employee from the back room into the storefront. He was wearing somewhat traditional butcher's garb and was covered in blood and gore; at least he didn't have a cleaver in his hands.

"What'dya want?" The man asked.

"I want my 3 years back! That gorram whore a mine, she used me up! I loved her and she treated me like dirt!"

Jayne began pouring fake tears, "You ever been hurt by a woman?"

The man behind the counter stared Jayne down like he belonged in an institution before replying, "No."

"Well you're lucky, gorram women gonna be the death'a me!" Jayne continued his would-be drunken ramblings as the man reached behind the desk and pushed a switch sending an alarm to the security station on floor 9.

Monitors covered the walls of the security room and three men in suits viewed them. At the sound of the alarm, one of the men cued up a view of Jayne who was now throwing things around the shop. The man held his finger to his ear engaging a radio comm, his accent was thick Ukrainian, "Dimitri, we have a problem in the shop, you should come down here."

Dimitri's office was highly ornate, wood and brass covering every surface. Dimitri himself was a short balding man, probably no taller than his father. He was keeping books when the call came through to him. In the walls of his office, River listened for the door to close signifying he had left the room. The sound would come a moment later and she quickly proceeded to the ceiling plumbing.

Dimitri entered the security room clearly aggravated at being disturbed, "What is it?" he asked.

The same man who had called him replied, "There's someone downstairs tearing up the shop."

Dimitri viewed Jayne on the screen and replied simply, "Get rid of him, no blood, I don't want to draw attention."

"Yes sir." The man replied.

Dimitri entered his office a moment later, closing the door behind him without turning his back. As the door closed, River was revealed. She had been hiding behind the door, Mona ready to fire.

As he walked to his desk, she examined his person; there was no place for him to be concealing a gun. She quietly stood away from the wall walking progressively closer to him, matching his footsteps, still silent. At point blank range, she fired two shots blowing out both of his knees while simultaneously cupping his mouth with her left hand to both catch and silence him.

On Serenity, the crew heard the two gunshots and the tension grew even further.

"_River!"_ Kaylee shouted.

River pressed Mona to Dimitri's head, which frightened his body to stillness as she turned him onto his back. Her hand still covered his mouth as she pressed the barrel of the gun to his forehead. He was completely at her mercy yet she hesitated to squeeze the trigger. Much as she wanted this man dead, even with what had been done to her, she wasn't a cold-blooded murderer. Dimitri's cries of pain slowly turned into a muted laughter. Then his thoughts crept into hers.

"_You weak bitch!"_ Images began to form in his head of her and Mal being tortured and killed causing her body to weaken and shudder. He reached his right hand to her throat and with every ounce of strength he had, squeezed tight.

River's eyes grew wide in panic as she gasped for air, Mona losing her place on his head. Her left hand still covered his mouth and in the course of a blink, she regained control. Her eyes closed and when they re-opened a fraction of a second later, they were empty and calm. Dimitri's grip on her throat vanished completely and his laughter had turned into cries of agony as blood began to pour from his eyes, nose, and ears; his body shaking violently as he hemorrhaged. When his body had finally ceased movement, River lifted her blood soaked hand from his mouth and Dimitri lay in a pool of blood.

She stared at the blood on her hand and her mind was oddly clear. She felt emptiness in her as a tear fell from her eye. The man whose life she had taken had tortured and murdered dozens if not hundreds of people. He used his last ounce of strength to try and kill her, and he would not have stopped his pursuit of the captain until he was dead. This knowledge gave her a shade of comfort for her actions. She pulled her shirt away from her and used the inside of it to dry her hand of blood. She stood, took a deep breath and quietly spoke to Kaylee, "It's done."

"Are you…"

"I'm fine…" She reached her hand to her sore neck and continued, "…tell Simon no new holes."

Kaylee giggled over the earpiece as River made her way back to the vent. She entered the vents again and pulled the grating closed behind her.

Her descent was much quicker and easier. She carefully and silently made her way back down the shaft eventually reaching the basement again.

"Is Jayne out?" River asked Kaylee.

"_Yeah, security came and threw him out. He's on his way back right now."_ Kaylee replied.

"Good, I'll be in the laundry in a minute."

Shortly thereafter River made her way through the service door and began her ascent of the vent back into the laundry. From the vent, she saw the restroom was still vacant and her coat was still on the ground. The grate flipped up and River made her way in, then fixed the grate on the vent. She slipped Mona behind her, and threw her coat on before walking out the door.

She quietly left the restroom and made her way out of the Laundry and back to Serenity.

"Fire her up Kaylee I'll be there in two minutes." River told her through the earpiece.

"_Already done, captain's ready to lift off second you're on board."_ Kaylee replied.

River ran through the alleys of the city reaching Serenity a few moments later. She climbed the bay doors, hit the switch to close them, and grabbed the comm, "I'm in, let's go."

Serenity's doors closed and they were in the sky a moment later.

Upon hearing her voice, Simon ran into the hold and found River walking towards him. She looked up as she felt Simon's presence and welcomed the rough hug he gave her with a hint of a smile.

"Thank buddha you're alright!" Simon exclaimed.

River was silent at what he said prompting him to push her away. He saw the outline of Dimitri's hand on her throat and his face drained of color; his tone dictated his state of panic, "River what the hell happened? _Are_ you alright?"

River was calm, but clearly shaken as she replied, "I'm fine."

"But your neck!"

"I'm alive Simon, that's all that's important." She looked down and raised her blood stained hand into view, "I need to get his blood off me Simon."

Simon was mortified at the sight of her hand, "River…"

River's speech was slightly fragmented but he could hear in her voice that she was not breaking down. She was severely shaken, but this was not an episode, "I couldn't do it, I couldn't just shoot him."

Simon sighed in relief. Second only to his sister getting hurt was the thought of his sister getting lost, "You're not a murderer River." Simon replied, "What _did_ happen?"

River describing Dimitri's execution wasn't something he wanted to hear, but if he were going to help her; he'd need to know what happened.

River was crying as she spoke, "I shot his knees. He was completely helpless. For a moment, I wasn't going to kill him at all I felt so much pain from him. But…his thoughts infected me like a virus. All he could think of was torturing Mal and me. He surprised me, grabbed me 'round the neck. I was scared but it…it cleared so quickly. I reached into his mind and squeezed as hard as I could. He bled everywhere and was dead a few seconds later."

River had mused about the possibility months ago, but not even Simon knew if it were true. As it would turn out, given the right circumstances, she really could kill with nothing more than her brain. Simon swallowed as River wiped the tears from her eyes. She took several deep breaths and collected herself before speaking again.

"I need to shower Simon, I need to get this day off of me."

Simon nodded as she headed to her bunk to get a change of clothes before going into the shower.

She sat on the floor of the shower fully clothed with her knees pulled tight to her chest. Dimitri's blood and the filth from the vents ran from her skin and her clothes into the drain in a black and red maelstrom.

She was shivering and her eyes were shut tight as water bounced off her face. While killing was what she was bred for, she'd never be comfortable with it. She began to slow her breathing and her eyes eventually opened as a calm poured over her. She slowly stood, her body creaking as she straightened out and stripped off her clothes. A few minutes later she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. She stared in the mirror, again closing her eyes, again focusing on her breathing, anything to keep her mind under control.

She emerged from the shower a few moments later feeling much better, only to find the whole crew waiting for her outside the door. She was now as they remembered her wearing a simple one-piece dress, curly letdown hair and bare feet. She flinched at the sight of them all waiting for her.

"Hi." River said with an inquisitive and concerned look on her face.

"How're you doin'?" Mal asked quietly.

"My muscles, all of me, everything hurts." She replied as she walked to her bunk.

"Hey! Ya want me ta massage ya?" Jayne asked.

"Hey! Ya want me ta shoot ya?" Mal replied

Jayne gave Mal a dirty look as River gave Jayne a weak smile, "Thank you, I'll be alright."

Mal stepped forward and gave her a gentle hug, "You get in that bed a'yers and you rest ya hear? That's an order."

Mal smiled and pushed her away gently pointing her to her bunk, "You take your time, we'll all be here when you get up."

River returned the smile and closed the door to her bunk. She quickly re-opened it a second later to find none of the crew had moved and made a disapproving face at them all.

They gave her a collective smile and headed off.

Just as she'd laid back in her bed, she slowly sat up and called out, "Simon!"

She heard his footsteps as he approached her bunk and opened the door a moment later, "Mei-mei, are you alright?"

"Could you give me something?"

Curiosity came over Simon's face, "What kind of something?"

"Anything that will put me to sleep and keep me asleep till tomorrow. I don't care what, just no needles."

"Yeah, hold on I'll get you something."

Simon made his way to the infirmary, as River got comfortable in her bed. He re-entered her bunk a moment later with a small pill and a glass of water. River tilted her head up, swallowed the pill and sipped from the glass. Her head gently fell back against her pillow and Simon slid her hair from her face.

"We'll see you tomorrow mei-mei."

"That soon?" River asked.

"Do you really want the captain piloting us around?"

"I suppose you're right." River replied with a smile, "I love you brother, thank you for understanding."

Simon smiled at her and fixed her blanket, "You get some sleep and feel better xiao mei."

River smiled one last time before her eyes closed and she was asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

The next morning, Mal was at Serenity's controls setting a course back to Persephone. It was once again time to look for work and in the day or two it would take to reach Persephone, Badger would probably be awake and looking to return home.

Simon knocked at the entrance to the bridge prompting Mal to turn, "Hey doc, you're up kinda early."

"Yeah, can't sleep really."

Mal's attention went back to the controls as he replied, "Beautiful young lady you sleep next to, I don't know how you can't just lay there and be happy."

Simon looked quite nervous and Mal picked up on it. He turned back to the controls and asked, "What's on your mind doc?"

Simon hesitated for a moment before responding, "Do you think Kaylee's parents would like me?"

Mal was caught off guard at Simon's question but his interest was peaked. He slowly turned in his chair, "Mind if I ask why?" he asked with a devilish smile on his face.

Simon now looked even more uncomfortable. While Mal had every intention of answering the doctor's question, he was enjoying the sight of Simon squirming.

Simon turned and looked back to the crew's quarters to make sure the door to his and Kaylee's bunk was still shut before approaching Mal. He knelt beside him and whispered, "I want to ask her to marry me."

Mal wasn't as shocked as he made himself out to be but he did enjoy seeing Simon squirm.

"WHAT?!" Mal yelled.

Simon's arms raised and waved like crazy as he motioned to the captain to quiet down, "SHHH!!! I don't want her to wake up!!" he whispered angrily.

"Sorry this is just unexpected is'all." Mal replied quietly, "Would her parents like you, let me think…"

Mal's extended pause left Simon breathless, "…No, not at all." Mal finally finished.

Simon apparently forgot every bit of the stealth he was aiming for and proceeded to scream at the captain, "What do you mean no!? I'm a decent person…"

"You're a wanted fugitive." Mal interjected.

"I'm a doctor…"

"On an illegal transport ship."

"Mal!!!"

Mal's face finally gave up the ghost as he burst into laughter. Simon's face told the rage he was feeling as he asked, "Just what in the rutting hell is so funny?"

Mal struggled to catch his breath and got out a few words, "I'm just teasing you Simon."

"WHAT?!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. I ain't a reader like yer sister but ya come in here askin' if my mechanic's parents will like you, its pretty obvious what you're plannin'."

Simon wanted nothing more than to punch Mal in the face, but couldn't help seeing the humor in what he'd done to him, eventually coming to laugh to himself before continuing.

"Well?" Simon asked.

Mal paused again, briefly this time; "I think they'd be honored ta have you as their son-in-law."

Simon smiled wide before reaching over and giving Mal an unexpected hug.

"Whoa, hey now." Mal said as he pushed Simon away, "There'll be none'a that." Mal exclaimed as he extended his right hand.

Simon shook Mal's hand as Mal once again showed his rare softer side, "So what're ya waitin' for? Git down there and ask'er!"

Simon smiled and ran back to his and Kaylee's bunk. Mal flipped a few switches at the controls to engage the autopilot and made his way to the door to crew's quarters. He propped himself up against the doorjamb and folded his arms waiting with an ear-to-ear grin for what he knew was coming.

A moment later, Kaylee began shrieking in excitement from her bunk and a second later, Zoe and Jayne emerged from their bunks to see what had happened.

"What the hell's goin on?" Jayne asked with his eyes barely open.

"Just wait, this is gonna be good." Mal replied.

Kaylee sprang from her bunk with a smile that could have ended the battle of Serenity Valley. Simon followed her out a moment later, also smiling quite intently.

"This better be good to have woken us up at 0800." Said a very groggy Jayne.

"Simon asked me to marry him!"

The room was silent for a minute as everyone waited for Kaylee to continue. Zoe finally spoke up, "And…"

Kaylee looked dumbfounded for a minute as she was too caught up in excitement to process Zoe's comment, "Oh, I said yes."

"Well hey then congratulations!" Jayne said as he reached over to shake Simon's hand.

Simon being caught a little off guard by a nice gesture on behalf of Jayne flinched a bit before replying with a smile, "Thank you."

Kaylee bounced about the room showing the ring off and couldn't help but reach Zoe who was wearing somewhat of a contrived smile. Kaylee froze in place before Zoe as silence fell on the room. Her smile disappeared as she addressed Zoe's blatant sadness, "Zo, I'm sorry, I…I didn't think."

"Hey…" Zoe grabbed Kaylee by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, "It's alright ya hear? You don't worry about me right now alright? You be happy, we're all happy for you." Zoe said with a smile.

Kaylee's reached around Zoe and gave her a hug. As they pulled apart, Zoe exclaimed, "So lets see it!"

Kaylee raised her hand wearing a Silver ring with a small diamond in the center. As they took in the rather small stone, everyone turned to Simon, their best "Are-you-kidding" faces present and accounted for.

"Hey! Its all I could afford." Simon stated rather angrily.

Their faces reverted back to smiles and everyone made their way to the Galley, save for Mal. As he entered the Galley he continued to walk straight through, Simon took notice, "Mal?"

"I'm gonna go get River, she's usually up by now and she's been asleep for almost 17 hours."

Simon nodded; the sleep-aid he gave her should be wearing off anytime now. Mal continued to River's bunk but when he arrived, he found it empty. He turned back to the common room, then to the cargo hold. River was nowhere to be found. She wasn't topside, and the only room he hadn't checked was the infirmary.

Mal made his way to River's least favorite room to find her sitting on Simon's stool beside Badger. He peaked his head in and asked, "River, you alright darlin'?" Mal asked.

"He's so sad Mal." River replied.

"You can hear'em?"

"He's dreaming about what happened on Persephone. Niska's men came to him asking for information about you. When he refused to give you up, they shot everyone. We're bringing him home, to nothing."

Mal felt horrible at what she had said. Just as she carried so much pain with her, he did with him.

"What do you think we should do with him?"

"We'll have to ask him, how far away from Persephone are we?"

"'Bout 1 day." Mal replied

"'Bout 1 day before what?" Badger asked with closed eyes and a horse voice.

Mal approached the table Badger laid on and leaned over his business associate, "Hey Badge, how you feelin'?"

Badger didn't respond right away. River read him as she typically did everyone else.

"He doesn't want to go back Mal."

Badger's head turned to River and his eyes opened wide, "How you know that love?"

River looked at Mal who spoke for her, "She can read you Badge."

"Read, like what, read my thoughts?"

"Yes, your thoughts, your dreams, everything." River replied.

"Tha's impossible, no one could do that."

River's face wore a terrible sadness as she contemplated the most polite way to state her thoughts, "I wish we had known. I wish I could have seen what they were planning. I could have saved you and everyone else, but there was too much, maybe we were too far away. I'm sorry."

He absorbed River's words as she softly spoke them with the utmost of sympathy in her voice. He lay quiet for a moment as the incident played in his head again. As the thoughts coursed through him, River's eyes closed and her head jerked. Badger looked up at her cringing and saw Mal was not lying about her; he could see that she did indeed feel what he was going through.

"My god…"

"You might wanna think'a somethin' else." Mal instructed.

Badger cleared his head and River's eyes slowly opened.

"Thank you. I feel terrible for what happened and as you think of it I see what you saw. I'm so sorry."

Badger swallowed and turned back to Mal as he replied to River, "S'alright love."

Mal smiled slightly at Badger, "Thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

"Ya didn't sell me out."

Badger smiled as he replied, "Business man captain Reynolds. Not a snitch."

Mal smiled and replied, "I should get the doc ta check ya over."

"I'll get Simon captain, you should keep him awake." River interjected.

"You sure?"

"Yes, he also has something to ask you and he doesn't want me to hear it." River replied as Badger gave her a wide-eyed look.

She gave him a wink before leaving the infirmary.

"Does she…" Mal cut Badger off, "Yeah, all the time. She's my pilot and I never get ta ask'er a gorram thing." Mal replied with a smile.

"So what do you want ta ask me?" Mal pried.

Badger was silent for a moment. He always viewed himself as a better man than Mal, but as he lay in the infirmary on the captain's ship, he wasn't in any position to be thinking anything of himself or Mal. Finally he replied, "I've got no place to go Mal. They took everything from me, my men, my effects, my home; I've got nothin' left on that rock."

Mal nodded, "Think I see where you're goin' with this."

"What do you think? Wouldn't be permanent, less we both want it ta be." Badger replied.

Mal sighed, "So what can ya do besides drum up work?"

"Ya got a cook?" Badger asked receiving a smile from Mal.

Simon entered the infirmary a moment later as Mal shook Badger's hand.

Mal stepped away from the table and addressed Simon, "Think we might'a found ourselves a cook doc." Mal said with a smile before exiting the infirmary.  
As Mal made his way back to the Galley, he found River and Inara congratulating Kaylee on her engagement. Zoe and Jayne were in the Galley fixing breakfast, oddly engulfed in conversation about the best way to prepare eggs.

He took in the sight and mixed conversations of his crew with a smile. So much had happened these past months. Everyone had changed; everyone had grown closer together. They were no longer just a crew they had become family. Mal thought to himself on this rare happy morning, "I think we're gonna be OK."

As the thought crossed his mind, River turned to him, offering him a wink and a warm smile that the captain returned.


End file.
